2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gochman
A German surname derived from the town of Gochmühl, meaning "mill on the river Göch".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Gochman. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gochman 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.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Gochman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gochman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gochman
The surname GOCHMAN is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, primarily in Poland and Ukraine, during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is derived from the Polish word "goch," which means "shepherd" or "herdsman." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely involved in pastoral occupations, tending to livestock.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GOCHMAN name can be found in the Polish town of Goczałkowice, located in the Silesian region. Historical documents from the late 17th century mention a family by the name of GOCHMAN residing in this area. It is possible that the surname evolved from the name of this town or vice versa.
In the 18th century, the GOCHMAN surname began appearing in various records across Eastern Europe, including birth, marriage, and death registers. Some notable individuals bearing this name during this time period include Jakub GOCHMAN, a renowned Polish scholar and philosopher born in 1712, and Tomasz GOCHMAN, a prominent landowner and businessman from the city of Lviv (now in Ukraine), who lived from 1738 to 1812.
As the 19th century dawned, the GOCHMAN name continued to spread throughout Eastern Europe, with many families migrating to other regions in search of better opportunities. One noteworthy figure from this era was Stanislaw GOCHMAN, a Polish artist and painter born in 1822, whose works were exhibited in several major European cities.
The 20th century saw the GOCHMAN surname extend its reach even further. Notable individuals include Yakov GOCHMAN, a Russian-born physicist and chemist (1892-1971), who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics, and Mikhail GOCHMAN, a Soviet writer and playwright (1908-1977) best known for his works depicting life in rural Ukraine.
Another prominent GOCHMAN was Lev GOCHMAN, a Soviet sports journalist and author (1923-2005), who covered numerous Olympic Games and international sporting events during his career. Towards the latter part of the 20th century, the GOCHMAN name also gained recognition in the field of medicine, with Dr. Aleksandr GOCHMAN, a renowned Russian cardiologist and researcher (1937-2019), who made significant advancements in the treatment of heart diseases.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gochman
Among Census respondents with the surname Gochman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gochman 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 Gochman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.5% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gochman
Gochman 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+9 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 158 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-8 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,337 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.7%) | Down 158 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 6,337 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 Gochman 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 | #147,253 | #153,590 | -4.3% |
| Count | 112 | 104 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gochman bearers went from 112 to 104 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 6,337 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #153,590.
FAQ
Gochman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gochman?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Gochman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Gochman?
Gochman ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Gochman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gochman.
Has Gochman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gochman went from 112 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Gochman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gochman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gochman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gochman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gochman (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 Gochman mean?
A German surname derived from the town of Gochmühl, meaning "mill on the river Göch". 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 Gochman (0.03 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 Gochman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Gochman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.