Atri is one of the seven Saptarishi of the present Manvantara and is regarded as a mind-born son of Brahma. The name is traditionally interpreted in various ways—sometimes as “devourer,” sometimes as “one who is beyond the three gunas,” and sometimes as “one free from the three faults.” He is the principal seer of the fifth mandala of the Rigveda, which contains eighty-seven hymns addressed mainly to Indra, Agni, the Ashvins, and other deities. Atri is therefore one of the most frequently mentioned sages in the Rigveda.
His wife was the celebrated pativrata Anasuya. According to Puranic tradition, when Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva tested her purity by appearing as guests who demanded to be fed while she was naked, her chastity and spiritual power transformed them into infants. Moved by her devotion, the three deities were later born as her sons: Chandra (the Moon), Dattatreya (the combined incarnation of the Trimurti), and Durvasa. Atri and Anasuya’s ashram in the Chitrakoot region was visited by Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile. The Atri (or Atreya) gotra is especially prominent in South India and parts of North India; its common pravara is Atri–Archanaanas–Shyavaashwa.
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Traditionally read as "devourer", or in some Puranic interpretations "one beyond the three gunas" - the precise etymology is genuinely debated among traditional sources. One of the Saptarishi.
No. Gotra and surname are separate systems. Families with many different surnames, across many regions and communities, can share the same gotra, and families with the same surname can belong to different gotras.
Many communities traditionally avoid marriage between people of the same gotra, based on the idea that they share a common patrilineal ancestor. Exact customs vary widely by community and region.