Goff
A medieval English masculine name derived from Geoffrey, meaning "traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Goff. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Goff today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Goff births was 1920 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Goff. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Goff. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1920
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1920 SSA rank
#4,004
Tracked since 1888
Popularity
Goff: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Goff from the 1880s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Goff 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 Goff during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Goff
The name Goff is believed to have originated from the Old English word "gof," which means "goaf" or "cavern." It is thought to have been used as a surname or nickname for someone who lived near a cave or worked as a miner.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Goff was primarily found in areas of England and Wales where mining and quarrying were prevalent industries. It is likely that the name was initially used as a descriptive surname before becoming a given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goff appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as a surname in several entries, suggesting that it was well-established by the late 11th century.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Goff remained relatively uncommon, but it was not entirely unknown. In the 13th century, a man named Goff de Laval was mentioned in the Rotuli Litterarum Patentium, a collection of letters patent issued by the English Crown. De Laval was a nobleman from Normandy, and his use of the name suggests that it may have had French roots as well.
In the 16th century, the name Goff gained some prominence with the birth of Sir Thomas Goff (1505-1592), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His family's wealth and influence likely contributed to the wider use of the name among the English gentry.
Other notable individuals named Goff throughout history include:
1. Goff Richards (1756-1837), a Welsh preacher and author known for his religious writings.
2. Goff Browning (1858-1919), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th Attorney General of Illinois.
3. Goff Penny (1888-1962), an Australian cricketer who played for the national team in the early 20th century.
4. Goff Conwyn (1917-1995), a Welsh actor and singer who appeared in several films and stage productions.
5. Goff Smith (1936-2016), an American basketball player who played in the NBA for the Cincinnati Royals and the St. Louis Hawks.
While the name Goff has never been exceptionally common, it has maintained a presence throughout the English-speaking world, particularly in areas with mining or quarrying traditions. Its unique origin and historical associations have contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Goff + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Goff 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
Goff: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Goff?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Goff 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 - US residents.
Is Goff a common name?
We classify Goff as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Goff most popular?
The single biggest year for Goff was 1920, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Goff is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Goff in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Goff a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Goff in the SSA data are male. 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 Goff still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Goff 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 Goff 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Goff?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.