I did a Google search on GRAVUNDER and found family in Wisconsin and surrounding areas only. Unusual name; rare. All those mentioned appear to be related. Just guessing, I would say it means a "digger" or "sculptor" or one who uses tools to "get to the bottom of things." Gary Radcliffe [email protected]

Origins for: Betts/Betz, Goetz, Streich

BETTS (English) from a medieval given name, a short form of "Bartholomew", "Beatrice", or "Elizabeth". BETZ (German) Variation of two names: 1. BERNARD (English, French, Polish, and Czech.) from the Germanic given name "Bernhard" meaning 'ber(n)' (bear) + 'hard' (brave, hardy, strong). Bernard was brought to England by the Normans. 2. BERTHOLD (German) from the Germanic personal name "Berthwald" meaning "berht" (bright, famous) + "wald" (rule). GOETZ (German) It seems to be a shortened form of any of several names, ie Gottfried, Goettel, Goettig, Goetting, Goettling, Gotthard. (This according to "German-American Names" by George F. Jones) Also found: \ GOTZ, GOTZE (German) variation of GOTT 1. English [Norman] and German: from a personal name, a short form of the various Germanic names with the first element "god" [straight line over the -o-] (good) or "god, got" (god) [no line over the -o-]. 2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variation of "GOT". STREICH - found: \ STREICHER (German) Cognate of the English "STRIKER", occupational name for someone whose job was to fill level measures, thus removing any heaped excess, from the Middle English "strike(n)", meaning "to stroke, smooth". Source: A Dictionary of Surnames by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges. Barbara Bob Hoy wrote: > Origins for: Betts/Betz, Goetz, Streich > > ============================== > Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: > Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. > http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com