Gaiter Family History

English: occupational name from northern Middle English gater ‘goatherd’ a derivative of Middle English gayte ‘goat’ (from Old English gāt with preservation of the unrounded northern ā or from Old Norse geit). The surname is found in northern England and the Midlands and has probably also absorbed Middle English gaythird ‘goatherd’.

English: topographic name from Middle English gater ‘dweller by the town gate or gateway’. This type of name derived from a topographic term + -er is found mainly in southern England especially Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire.

Americanized form of German Geiter which is unexplained or of some other similar (like-sounding) surname.