2000
#14,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,954
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Goering
Derived from a German nickname meaning "puckered" or "frowning," likely referring to a person with a furrowed brow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,212 Americans carry the last name Goering. That puts it at #14,772 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,952 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goering 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
2.2K
1 in 154,952
Census rank
#14,772
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,929 bearers of the surname Goering in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14772nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goering, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goering
The surname Goering is of German origin, first appearing in the 15th century. It is derived from the Old German word "goren," meaning "to desire" or "to crave." The name likely originated in the region of Lower Saxony, where it was initially spelled "Goringen" or "Goringen."
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the Hanseatic League records from the city of Lübeck, dated 1427. Here, a merchant named Hans Goringen is mentioned as trading goods with merchants from the Netherlands.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various church records and tax rolls from towns and villages in the areas around Braunschweig, Hannover, and Hildesheim. During this time, the spelling evolved to its modern form, "Goering."
The Goering name is also associated with several notable historical figures. One of the earliest was Johann Goering (1524-1572), a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
In the 18th century, a prominent Goering was Johann Erich Goering (1723-1801), a renowned jurist and legal scholar who served as the Mayor of Hildesheim and later as a judge in the High Court of Appeals in Berlin.
The 19th century saw the birth of Hermann Goering (1893-1946), a German politician and military leader who became one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party. He served as the second-in-command to Adolf Hitler and played a crucial role in the rise of the Third Reich.
Another notable individual with the Goering surname was Reinhard Goering (1887-1936), a German physicist and explorer who led several expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic regions in the early 20th century.
Lastly, the name Goering has been linked to various place names in Germany, such as Goringen, a village in Lower Saxony, and Goeringsruh, a former estate near Berlin that was once owned by Hermann Goering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goering
Among Census respondents with the surname Goering, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Goering 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 Goering surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 1,770
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 74
- Two or more races2.4% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 24
- Black or African American0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goering
Goering 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
#14,172
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,119
+165 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 45 places
2020
#14,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,929
-190 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 600 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,127 | 1,954 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,172 | 2,119 | 0.72 | +165 bearers (+8.4%) | Down 45 places |
| 2020 | #14,772 | 1,929 | 0.65 | -190 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 600 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 Goering 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 | #14,172 | #14,772 | -4.2% |
| Count | 2,119 | 1,929 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.65 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goering bearers went from 2,119 to 1,929 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 600 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,172 to #14,772.
FAQ
Goering surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goering?
Name Census estimates that about 2,212 living Americans carry the surname Goering. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,952 residents.
How common is Goering?
Goering ranks #14,772 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,929 people with the surname Goering. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,212), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Goering.
Has Goering become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goering went from 2,119 recorded bearers to 1,929. That is a decrease of 190 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,172 to #14,772.
What does the Census say about the background of Goering?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goering, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Goering in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (1,770 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goering appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Goering (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 Goering mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "puckered" or "frowning," likely referring to a person with a furrowed brow. 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 Goering (0.65 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 Goering?
See how common the surname Goering is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.