2000
#6,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.90
Rare Last name
Goodall
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived near a hall or manor house of good quality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,782 Americans carry the last name Goodall. That puts it at #6,477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,280 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goodall surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Goodall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 59,280
Census rank
#6,477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,042 bearers of the surname Goodall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodall, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goodall
The surname Goodall is of English origin and can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "gode" meaning good and "hall" meaning a hall or manor house. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived in a large or fine hall.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Goodall can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was written as "Godehalle." This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
During the Middle Ages, the name was also spelled in various ways, such as Goodhall, Goodale, and Goodhall. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling conventions at the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Goodall was Sir John Goodall, a knight who lived in the 13th century. He was mentioned in several historical records from that period, including the Pipe Rolls of 1230.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the parish records of Derbyshire, where a family by the name of Goodall resided in the village of Brailsford. Thomas Goodall, born in 1520, was a prominent member of this family and served as a local magistrate.
Another notable figure with the surname Goodall was Jane Goodall (1923-present), the world-renowned British primatologist and anthropologist. She is best known for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park, which began in 1960.
Other individuals of historical significance with the surname Goodall include:
1. Howard Goodall (born 1958), a British composer and broadcaster.
2. Frederick Goodall (1822-1904), an English painter known for his depictions of Egyptian scenes.
3. Walter Goodall (1706-1766), an English botanist and author of "The Florist's Delight."
4. Thomas Goodall (1592-1651), an English clergyman and religious writer who served as the Rector of Cheshunt in Hertfordshire.
The surname Goodall has been found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Hertfordshire. It is also present in other English-speaking countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to immigration from Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goodall
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodall, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Goodall bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Goodall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.3% · 3,698
- Black or African American16.1% · 812
- Two or more races5.1% · 257
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 176
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goodall
Goodall appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,193
+59 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.76
Rank movement Down 383 places
2020
#6,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,042
-151 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.69
Rank movement Up 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,143 | 5,134 | 1.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,526 | 5,193 | 1.76 | +59 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 383 places |
| 2020 | #6,477 | 5,042 | 1.69 | -151 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 49 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Goodall surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,526 | #6,477 | 0.8% |
| Count | 5,193 | 5,042 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.76 | 1.69 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goodall bearers went from 5,193 to 5,042 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,526 to #6,477.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Goodall
FAQ
Goodall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goodall?
Name Census estimates that about 5,782 living Americans carry the surname Goodall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,280 residents.
How common is Goodall?
Goodall ranks #6,477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,042 people with the surname Goodall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,782), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Goodall.
Has Goodall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goodall went from 5,193 recorded bearers to 5,042. That is a decrease of 151 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,526 to #6,477.
What does the Census say about the background of Goodall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodall, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Goodall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.3% (3,698 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goodall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.3%), Black (16.1%), Two or More Races (5.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Goodall (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Goodall mean?
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived near a hall or manor house of good quality. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Goodall (1.69 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Goodall?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.