Godinho last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Godinho

A Portuguese surname originating as a patronymic from the name Godinho, a diminutive of Godo.

Godinho, 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 Godinho surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Godinho in America

Godinho is the 38902nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Godinho surname appeared 567 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 Godinho.

We can also compare 2010 data for Godinho 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 38902 41793 -7.17%
Count 567 490 14.57%
Proportion per 100k 0.19 0.18 5.41%

The history of the last name Godinho

The surname Godinho has its origins in Portugal, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a diminutive form of the medieval Portuguese name Godino, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Godo. This name is thought to be related to the Visigothic tribe that settled in the Iberian Peninsula during the 5th and 6th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Godinho can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens, a 14th-century Portuguese manuscript that chronicles the genealogy of noble families. This document mentions a Godinho Fafes, who was a prominent figure in the court of King Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal.

The name Godinho is also associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such person was João Godinho, a 16th-century Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his second voyage to India in 1502. Another was António Godinho, a 17th-century Jesuit missionary who played a significant role in the evangelization of Japan.

In the literary world, the name Godinho is perhaps most famously associated with the 16th-century Portuguese writer and poet Vasco Mousinho de Quevedo Godinho. His works, which included poetry and plays, were widely acclaimed during the Renaissance period.

The surname Godinho has also been linked to various place names in Portugal, such as Godinho (a parish in the municipality of Paredes) and Quinta do Godinho (a farm estate in the Algarve region). These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Godinho who were either landowners or prominent figures in those areas.

Other notable individuals with the surname Godinho throughout history include Duarte Godinho (a 16th-century Portuguese historian and author), Manuel Godinho de Erédia (a 17th-century Portuguese military commander and governor of Portuguese India), and José Agostinho Godinho (a 19th-century Portuguese playwright and journalist).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Godinho

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

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 Godinho was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 81.13% 460
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.94% 11
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 6.70% 38
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 8.47% 48

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 Godinho has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 81.13% 79.18% 2.43%
Black 1.94% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 6.70% 5.51% 19.49%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 9.59% (S)%
Hispanic 8.47% 5.10% 49.67%

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 Godinho was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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"Godinho last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 20, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/godinho-surname-popularity/.

"Godinho last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/godinho-surname-popularity/. Accessed 20 May, 2025

Godinho last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/godinho-surname-popularity/.

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