Goergen last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Goergen

A German surname derived from the Germanic personal name Georg or Göring.

Goergen, 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 Goergen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goergen in America

Goergen is the 27110th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goergen surname appeared 893 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 Goergen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goergen 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 27110 26642 1.74%
Count 893 860 3.76%
Proportion per 100k 0.30 0.32 -6.45%

The history of the last name Goergen

The surname Goergen is of German origin, with its earliest roots traced back to the medieval era. The name is believed to derive from the German personal name Georg, which in turn comes from the Greek name Georgios, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."

In the Middle Ages, the surname Goergen likely emerged as a patronymic name, indicating descent from an ancestor named Georg. The addition of the suffix "-en" was a common practice in Germanic languages to denote a familial or geographic connection.

One of the earliest known references to the name Goergen can be found in the historical records of the city of Cologne, Germany, dating back to the 14th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Goergen, Görgen, and Gürgen, reflecting the regional linguistic variations of the time.

Notably, in the 16th century, a prominent figure named Johannes Goergen served as the mayor of Cologne from 1545 to 1547. His tenure as a civic leader suggests that the Goergen family held a respectable position in the community during that period.

Another notable individual bearing the surname Goergen was Johann Goergen, a German artist and engraver born in 1594 in the city of Mainz. His intricate etchings and engravings, depicting religious and historical scenes, are still praised for their artistic merit and attention to detail.

In the 18th century, the Goergen name gained further recognition through the work of Johann Wolfgang Goergen, a renowned German mathematician and astronomer. Born in 1733 in Nuremberg, he made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.

As the Goergen family spread across various regions of Germany and beyond, the name underwent slight variations in spelling, such as Görgen, Goergens, and Goerger. These variations often reflected local dialects and regional influences on the pronunciation and spelling of the name.

One noteworthy figure from more recent history was Karl Goergen, a German industrialist and entrepreneur born in 1834 in Cologne. He founded the Goergen-Werke, a successful steel manufacturing company that played a vital role in the industrialization of the Rhineland region.

Throughout its long history, the surname Goergen has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, civic leaders, and industrialists. While the name's origins can be traced back to medieval Germany, its legacy has transcended borders and continues to hold significance in modern times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goergen

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

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 Goergen was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.86% 865
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.90% 8
Hispanic Origin 1.79% 16

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.86% 97.09% -0.24%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.90% 1.51% -50.62%
Hispanic 1.79% 1.05% 52.11%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Goergen last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 7, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/goergen-surname-popularity/.

"Goergen last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/goergen-surname-popularity/. Accessed 7 May, 2025

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

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