This surname, with variant spellings Gossling, Goseling, Gostling, Gos(se)lin and Gosland, has two distinct possible origins. The first and most likely being a variant form of an old French personal name imported into England after 1066 in the forms Goscelin, Gosselin and Jocelin. The name, of complex origin, was very popular among the Normans, and has its roots either in the old German personal name Gauzelin meaning "a descendant of the Goths" i.e. "Gothing" or in the Celtic "Josse", a champion, with the double diminutive ending -el -in. The "g" in Goslin derived from this source is excrescent. The second possibility is that the name originated as a nickname for a keeper of geese, from the Medieval English "gosling", a young goose. One, Henry Goseling, was a witness recorded in the 1260 "Assize Court Rolls of Cambridgeshire", whilst other examples of the name recording include Gabriell Goslen christened at the church of St Mary Poultry on November 20th 1585, Henry Goslynge, recorded at the church of St Mary The Virgin,London, on August 23rd 1590 and Charles Goslin, the son of Ralph and Sara Goslin, christened at the famous church of St Dunstans in the East,Stepney, on October 29th 1668. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Goselin, which was dated 1185, The Knight Templar rolls for Lincolnshire, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The church builder" 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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