2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Goerndt
An old German surname derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 149 Americans carry the last name Goerndt. That puts it at #134,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,300,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goerndt 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
149
1 in 2,300,365
Census rank
#134,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
130
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 130 bearers of the surname Goerndt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 134631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goerndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goerndt
The surname GOERNDT is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages in central Europe. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from a place called Görnitz or Görnau, both of which are small towns in present-day eastern Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GOERNDT name can be found in the Bautzen Land Register of 1486, which mentions a certain Hanns Gornditz as a landowner in the region. This suggests that the name may have initially been spelled with a "tz" ending before evolving into its modern form.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the GOERNDT surname began to spread beyond its original heartland, as families bearing this name migrated to other parts of the German-speaking world. Notable individuals from this period include Johann GOERNDT (1592-1661), a Lutheran theologian and rector of the Gymnasium in Zwickau, Saxony.
As the centuries progressed, the GOERNDT name continued to disperse, with some bearers venturing further afield to other European countries and even across the Atlantic to the Americas. One such individual was Friedrich GOERNDT (1744-1823), a Prussian-born soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, the GOERNDT surname gained prominence in the world of literature and academia. Notable figures include the German novelist and playwright Wilhelm GOERNDT (1809-1872) and the Austrian philosopher and psychologist Franz GOERNDT (1837-1918), who made significant contributions to the field of experimental psychology.
Another illustrious bearer of the GOERNDT name was the German artist and architect Max GOERNDT (1871-1945), whose Art Nouveau and Jugendstil designs left a lasting mark on the architectural landscape of Berlin and other German cities in the early 20th century.
Throughout its long history, the GOERNDT surname has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Germany, while also becoming established in other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. Despite its modest beginnings as a locational name, it has produced numerous accomplished individuals who have left their mark across various fields of endeavor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goerndt
Among Census respondents with the surname Goerndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Goerndt 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 Goerndt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goerndt
Goerndt 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+7 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,647 places
2020
#134,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
-2 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,584 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 2,647 places |
| 2020 | #134,631 | 130 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 5,584 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 Goerndt 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 | #129,047 | #134,631 | -4.3% |
| Count | 132 | 130 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goerndt bearers went from 132 to 130 (-1.5% change). The surname moved down 5,584 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #134,631.
FAQ
Goerndt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goerndt?
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the surname Goerndt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,300,365 residents.
How common is Goerndt?
Goerndt ranks #134,631 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 130 people with the surname Goerndt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (149), 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 Goerndt.
Has Goerndt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goerndt went from 132 recorded bearers to 130. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #134,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Goerndt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goerndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Goerndt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (129 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goerndt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Goerndt (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 Goerndt mean?
An old German surname derived from a place name. 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 Goerndt (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 many people are called Goerndt?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Goerndt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.