Does anyone have any ideas as to why the different spellings of the name? Location, census taker, family rift?

My Great-Great-Grandfather, Isaac Goff (Gough), born 1803 VA, died 1890 Circleville, Pickaway, OH (wife Elinore Simmerman). His son, my Great-Grandfather, John Goff, died 1936 Circleville, OH (wife Rosa Lemley). My Grandfather, Allen O Goff, died Columbus Hospital September 19, 1958 (wife Grace Frazier).

I find Isaac born Gough but died Goff.

Thanks!

In the United States, genetic testing has demonstrated that the Gough and Goff (and Gawf) surnames were interchangeble. As you pointed out, someone may start out life with one spelling and end up with another. The change in spelling appears to be related to migration during a person's lifetime. If they lived in the same place, the spelling likely did not change. The changed spelling in the new location may have been caused by the experience of the local county clerk.

In the UK, I've only seen exmaples of a transition from Goffe to Goff, but also at least one hint of a conversion from Goffe to Gough.

I'm helping a friend research her Goff family. She insisted that hers was spelled with E at the end. We were able to determine that the E was added in about 1914, not sure if it was the mother or her sons. Someone said GoffE was English, I'm not sure what Goff is (without the E) - Irish maybe? She also stopped using Lizzie and was recorded as Elizabeth - maybe she was reinventing herself, as she had moved from a wild mining town to a more pastoral area of Montana.

Plus the name changes help add to the challenge for those of us trying to find them.

Different spellings are due to who is writing it. People of different heritages will spell phonically, or if a person has a lisp or other speech problem it's not coming out right. And, then there is the transposing of the letters as they are writing it out. Sometimes when census takers were filling out paper work they just didn't have all the education that was required. I remember most of this from another question posed.