2000
#415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 70,333
First available Census row
Per 100,000 26.07
Uncommon Last name
Goodwin
A surname of Anglo-Saxon origin referring to someone who was a good friend or an auspicious person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 79,082 Americans carry the last name Goodwin. That puts it at #472 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 23.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,334 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goodwin 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 Goodwin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
79K
1 in 4,334
Census rank
#472
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
23.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
69K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 68,963 bearers of the surname Goodwin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 23.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 472nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodwin, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goodwin
The surname GOODWIN is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English words "god" meaning "good" and "wine" meaning "friend". It was originally an occupational surname given to someone who was considered a good friend or comrade.
The earliest known record of the surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Godwine". This indicates that the name was already well-established in England by the 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as "Godwyne", "Godwyn", and "Goodwyne". These variations reflected the different regional dialects and scribal practices of the time.
In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the name was Roger Godwyn, who was a wealthy landowner in Wiltshire, England. Records from that period also mention a Richard Godwin, who was a prominent citizen of London.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the form of "Goodwin" in the records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. This spelling became more common as the English language standardized.
One of the earliest known examples of the surname can be found in the records of the Virginia Company, where a John Goodwin is listed as one of the first settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
Notable historical figures with the surname GOODWIN include Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680), an influential English Puritan theologian and preacher, and John Goodwin (1594-1665), an English Arminian theologian and controversial writer.
In the 18th century, Benjamin Goodwin (1700-1787) was a prominent American silversmith and engraver, known for his work on early American currency. Another notable bearer of the name was Charles Goodwin (1817-1878), an English archdeacon and author.
During the 19th century, Nathaniel Goodwin (1857-1919) was a renowned American actor and playwright, best known for his performances in comedic roles on the vaudeville stage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goodwin
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodwin, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Goodwin 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 Goodwin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.8% · 50,905
- Black or African American17.0% · 11,705
- Two or more races4.2% · 2,912
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 2,354
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 602
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 485
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goodwin
Goodwin 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
#454
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 72,451
+2,118 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 24.56
Rank movement Down 39 places
2020
#472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 68,963
-3,488 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 23.07
Rank movement Down 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #415 | 70,333 | 26.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #454 | 72,451 | 24.56 | +2,118 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 39 places |
| 2020 | #472 | 68,963 | 23.07 | -3,488 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 18 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 Goodwin 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 | #454 | #472 | -4.0% |
| Count | 72,451 | 68,963 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 24.56 | 23.07 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goodwin bearers went from 72,451 to 68,963 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #454 to #472.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Goodwin
FAQ
Goodwin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goodwin?
Name Census estimates that about 79,082 living Americans carry the surname Goodwin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,334 residents.
How common is Goodwin?
Goodwin ranks #472 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 23.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 23 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 68,963 people with the surname Goodwin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (79,082), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 23.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 23.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 23 of them to have the surname Goodwin.
Has Goodwin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goodwin went from 72,451 recorded bearers to 68,963. That is a decrease of 3,488 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #454 to #472.
What does the Census say about the background of Goodwin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodwin, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Goodwin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (50,905 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goodwin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.8%), Black (17.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Goodwin (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 Goodwin mean?
A surname of Anglo-Saxon origin referring to someone who was a good friend or an auspicious 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 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 Goodwin (23.07 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 Goodwin?
If you just want to know how common the surname Goodwin is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.