Goddess
Of Greek origin, denoting a female deity or divine being.
Name Census estimates that about 708 living Americans carry the first name Goddess. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Goddess today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Goddess births was 2019 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Goddess. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
708
~ 1 in 484,116 Americans
Peak year
2019
68 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,053
Tracked since 1957
Census
Goddess in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 384 people with the first name Goddess, which placed it at #24,893 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,893
National first-name rank
People counted
384
384 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
77.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goddess
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Goddess is Black at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Goddess 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Goddess at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.6% · 298
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 33
- Two or more races8.6% · 33
- White3.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Goddess: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Goddess from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 359 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Goddess remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Goddess by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Goddess during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Goddess' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Goddess, while Illinois, Alabama, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Goddess
The name Goddess is a relatively modern English word that emerged in the late 16th century. It derives from the Old English term "Gydene," which referred to a pagan goddess or female deity. This term, in turn, traces its roots back to the Proto-Germanic "Gudinon," meaning "female being of spiritual properties."
In ancient mythologies, various goddesses were revered as powerful feminine forces representing nature, fertility, love, and other aspects of life. Some notable examples include Athena in Greek mythology, Isis in Egyptian mythology, and Freya in Norse mythology. However, the name Goddess itself was not commonly used as a personal name until much later.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Goddess as a first name dates back to the 17th century. In 1648, a woman named Goddess Fortuna was born in England. Little is known about her life, but her unique name suggests a connection to the concept of fate or good fortune.
In the late 19th century, a woman named Goddess Pelham (1858-1935) gained some notoriety as a British writer and journalist. She published several novels and short stories and was known for her unconventional lifestyle and feminist views.
Another notable figure with the name Goddess was Goddess Cedriwalda (1892-1972), an American artist and illustrator. She was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and is known for her intricate woodblock prints and book illustrations.
In the 20th century, Goddess Ngozi (1930-2008) was a Nigerian novelist and playwright. Her works explored themes of tradition, culture, and the struggles of women in her society. She was a prominent figure in the literary circles of her time.
More recently, Goddess Leonie (born 1970) is an Australian author and entrepreneur. She has written several books on personal development, spirituality, and mindfulness, and runs an online business focused on empowering women.
While the name Goddess is still relatively uncommon, it has gained some popularity in recent decades, particularly among parents seeking unique and meaningful names for their children. The name represents a celebration of the divine feminine and a connection to ancient spiritual traditions.
People
Goddess + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Goddess as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Goddess: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Goddess?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 708 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Goddess going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 484,116 US residents.
Is Goddess a common name?
We classify Goddess as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 715 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Goddess most popular?
The single biggest year for Goddess was 2019, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Goddess is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Goddess in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 384 people with the name Goddess, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,893 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Goddess in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Goddess?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Goddess leans strongly female. 385 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Goddess?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Goddess is Black at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Goddess most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Goddess in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.6% (298 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Goddess in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Goddess a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Goddess in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Goddess still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Goddess in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Goddess can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Goddess?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Goddess on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.