Find out how popular the last name Godchaux is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Godchaux.

Godchaux, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Godchaux surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Godchaux in America

Godchaux is the 138304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Godchaux surname appeared 121 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Godchaux.

We can also compare 2010 data for Godchaux to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Godchaux

The surname Godchaux originated from the French region of Normandy in the early 12th century. It is derived from the Old French words "gode" meaning "good" and "chaux" meaning "lime," suggesting the name may have been associated with someone who worked with lime or lived near a lime quarry.

The earliest known record of the name Godchaux appears in the Cartulaire de Louviers, a medieval manuscript from the Norman abbey of Louviers, dating back to around 1150. It mentions a certain "Radulfus Godchaux" who was a landowner in the region.

In the 13th century, the name Godchaux can be found in various documents from Normandy, such as the Livre des Bourgeois d'Évreux, where a "Robertus Godchaux" is listed as a citizen of the town of Évreux in 1268.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Godchaux was Jean Godchaux (c. 1350-1415), a wealthy merchant from Rouen who served as an alderman and was involved in the city's governance during the Hundred Years' War.

Another prominent figure was Étienne Godchaux (1573-1641), a Huguenot minister and theologian who served as the pastor of the Reformed Church in Caen and authored several religious works.

In the 17th century, the Godchaux family spread to other parts of France, with some members settling in the Poitou region. François Godchaux (1616-1688), a lawyer and judge from Poitiers, was a respected legal scholar who published treatises on French civil law.

The 18th century saw the rise of Jacques Godchaux (1735-1815), a successful entrepreneur from Nantes who established a prosperous trading company and played a significant role in the city's maritime commerce.

During the 19th century, members of the Godchaux family were involved in various industries, including sugar production. Léon Godchaux (1828-1899) was a prominent sugar planter and businessman in Louisiana, where he founded the Godchaux Sugar Refinery, which became one of the largest sugar refineries in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Godchaux

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Godchaux.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Godchaux was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Godchaux has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Godchaux was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Godchaux, please contact us.

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