2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Goepfrich
A German surname likely derived from "Goethe" meaning poet or poet-like.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Goepfrich. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goepfrich 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Goepfrich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goepfrich, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goepfrich
The surname Goepfrich has its origins in Germany, likely emerging during the Middle Ages between the 5th and 15th centuries. It is believed to be derived from the Old German words "goep" meaning "lofty" or "elevated" and "rich" meaning "ruler" or "powerful." This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who held a position of authority or nobility within a particular region or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Goepfrich name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. In this manuscript, a person named Heinricus Goepfrich is mentioned in relation to a land transaction in the year 1187.
Another notable historical reference to the Goepfrich name appears in the Stadtbücher von Köln, a series of municipal records from the city of Cologne, where a merchant named Johannes Goepfrich is listed as having traded goods with other cities in the Hanseatic League during the 14th century.
In the 16th century, a German scholar and theologian named Martin Goepfrich (1490-1556) gained renown for his contributions to the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the translation of the Bible into German.
During the 17th century, a notable figure with the Goepfrich surname was Johann Goepfrich (1612-1676), a German architect who was responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in the city of Dresden.
In the 18th century, the name Goepfrich can be found associated with a small village in the region of Bavaria, known as Goepfrichsdorf. It is believed that this village may have been named after an influential Goepfrich family that resided there during that time period.
Over the centuries, the Goepfrich name has undergone various spelling variations, including Gopfrich, Göpfrich, and Goppfricht, likely due to regional dialects and variations in record-keeping. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goepfrich
Among Census respondents with the surname Goepfrich, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Goepfrich 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 Goepfrich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goepfrich
Goepfrich 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+21 bearers (+20.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,795 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-14 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,756 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +21 bearers (+20.6%) | Up 11,795 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 13,756 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 Goepfrich 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 | #136,449 | #150,205 | -10.1% |
| Count | 123 | 109 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goepfrich bearers went from 123 to 109 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 13,756 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #150,205.
FAQ
Goepfrich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goepfrich?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Goepfrich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Goepfrich?
Goepfrich ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 109 people with the surname Goepfrich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Goepfrich.
Has Goepfrich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goepfrich went from 123 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Goepfrich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goepfrich, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Goepfrich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goepfrich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Goepfrich (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 Goepfrich mean?
A German surname likely derived from "Goethe" meaning poet or poet-like. 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 Goepfrich (0.04 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 common is the surname Goepfrich?
Find out how many people have the surname Goepfrich on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.