2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Goodmen
A surname derived from the Old English words 'god' and 'man', meaning a virtuous or upright person.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Goodmen. That puts it at #135,593 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goodmen 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.
Goodmen appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#135,593
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
124
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 124 bearers of the surname Goodmen in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 135593rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodmen, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goodmen
The surname Goodmen is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be a variant of the more common surname "Goodman," which was initially an occupational name for a respected or well-respected man, particularly the head of a household or landowner.
The name is derived from the Old English words "god" (good) and "man" (person or individual). It was likely used as a descriptive term to refer to someone who was perceived as a good, upright, or honorable person within their community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Goodmen can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, a survey of landowners and their holdings conducted in 1274-1275 during the reign of King Edward I. The name appears as "Godeman" in this record.
Another early reference to the name comes from the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which lists a "Willelmus Godeman" (William Goodman or Goodmen) among the taxpayers of that county.
In the 15th century, the surname Goodmen appeared in various forms, such as "Goodmanne" and "Gudeman," as evidenced by records from the Court of the Hustings in London and the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence from a wealthy Norfolk family.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Goodmen include:
1. John Goodmen (c. 1592-1659), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Somerford Keynes in Wiltshire.
2. Thomas Goodmen (fl. 1620-1650), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Saltash, Cornwall, during the Long Parliament of the English Civil War.
3. William Goodmen (c. 1570-1640), a merchant and landowner in Stratford-upon-Avon, who was a contemporary and neighbor of William Shakespeare.
4. Elizabeth Goodmen (c. 1595-1670), an English Puritan and one of the founding settlers of the town of Newbury, Massachusetts, in colonial America.
5. Robert Goodmen (c. 1610-1685), an English soldier who fought for the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War and later served as a captain in the Parliamentary army.
While the surname Goodmen was more prevalent in England, variations of the name can be found in other parts of the British Isles and later in regions where English settlers migrated, such as North America and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goodmen
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodmen, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Goodmen bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Goodmen surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.9%
- Black or African American27.4%
- Unknown or suppressed5.7%
- Two or more races4.0%
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goodmen
Goodmen appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+16 bearers (+14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,195 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+14.8%) | Up 6,195 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
2000 vs 2010 Census
How has the Goodmen surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20002010
| Metric | 2000 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #141,788 | #135,593 | 4.4% |
| Count | 108 | 124 | 14.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.0% |
Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, the number of Goodmen bearers went from 108 to 124 (+14.8% change). The surname moved up 6,195 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,788 to #135,593.
FAQ
Goodmen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goodmen?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Goodmen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Goodmen?
Goodmen ranks #135,593 in the 2010 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2010 Census file counted 124 people with the surname Goodmen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Goodmen.
Has Goodmen become more or less common over time?
Between 2000 and 2010, the surname Goodmen went from 108 recorded bearers to 124. That is an increase of 16 (+14.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #141,788 to #135,593.
What does the Census say about the background of Goodmen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodmen, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2010 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 Goodmen in the 2010 Census, accounting for 62.9%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goodmen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (62.9%), Black (27.4%), Two or More Races (4.0%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Goodmen appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Goodmen mean?
A surname derived from the Old English words 'god' and 'man', meaning a virtuous or upright person. 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 2010 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 Goodmen (0.04 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 people are called Goodmen?
Want to know how many people have the surname Goodmen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.