The name of the Goths is one of the most discussed topics in Germanic philology. It is first recorded by Greco-Roman writers in the 3rd century AD, although names that are probably related appear earlier. Derived from Proto-Germanic *Gutōz ~ *Gutaniz, it is closely related to and probably means the same as the names of both the Geats of southern Sweden and Gutes of Gotland. The implications of these similarities, and the actual meaning of the Gothic name, are disputed in scholarship.
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Name of the Goths in the context of Crimean Goths
The Crimean Goths were a Germanic-speaking people that lived in the lands around the Black Sea, especially Crimea, between about the 3rd and 18th centuries. While the exact period when they ceased to exist as a distinct culture is unknown, they were the longest-lasting of the peoples known as Goths – a name applied to various tribes that may have had little or no connection to each other. Based on the limited historical and linguistic evidence, the Crimean Goths may have been connected to a preceding East Germanic tribe called the Greuthungi and/or a tribe speaking a West Germanic language.
Apart from textual reports of the existence of the Goths in Crimea, both first- and second-hand, from as early as 850, numerous archaeological sites also exist, including the ruins of the former capital city of the Crimean Goths: Doros (present-day Mangup). Furthermore, numerous articles of jewellery, weaponry, shields, buttons, pins, and small personal artefacts on display in museums in Crimea and in the British Museum have led to a better understanding of Crimean Gothia.