(Which other youth subcultures are named after words for disagreeable people? There's punk, for one.)
(Thanks to Cos)
The term "goth" was coined as a pejorative by some music journalist reviewing Bauhaus or someone back in the early 80s.
Mind you, the term "gothic" for architecture was coined as a pejorative to describe the jarring (and some said barbaric) departure from the conventions of romanesque architecture.
Hmmm. What about the 'Vandals'?
Let's see, it was the Goths, Visigoths, and Vandals that sacked Rome. I have a feeling I'm missing a tribe tho'.
There's a Southern Californian (?) punk band named The Vandals. They're best known for having people like SHAG and Paul Frank do their album covers.
And of course who could forget Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins?
I think that "goth" refers more to "gothic" rather than the tribal definition