2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Goeschel
A Germanic surname derived from a place name meaning "little water or stream."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Goeschel. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goeschel 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Goeschel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goeschel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goeschel
The surname Goeschel is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic word "Göschen," which referred to a small brook or stream. This suggests that the name may have originally been a descriptive name for someone who lived near a brook or stream.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Goeschel can be found in various German records from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, a "Johannes Goeschel" is mentioned in a document from the city of Nuremberg in 1311. Additionally, the name appears in the records of the town of Bamberg in 1382, spelled as "Goeschelinus."
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Goeschel, a merchant and member of the city council in Augsburg, who lived from around 1420 to 1492. Another notable figure was Friedrich Goeschel, a German philosopher and theologian who lived from 1784 to 1861.
In the 16th century, the name Goeschel appears in various records from the regions of Saxony and Thuringia. One example is Johann Goeschel, a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Leipzig, who was born in 1578 and died in 1637.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Goeschel was found in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Prussia. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Christian Goeschel, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1676 to 1737.
In the 19th century, the name Goeschel was particularly prevalent in the German states of Bavaria and Saxony. One prominent figure with this surname was Carl Friedrich Goeschel, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1784 to 1861.
Throughout history, the surname Goeschel has also been spelled in various ways, including Goschl, Göschel, and Göschen, reflecting regional variations and changes in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goeschel
Among Census respondents with the surname Goeschel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Goeschel 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 Goeschel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goeschel
Goeschel 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,192 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-8 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,306 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 13,192 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 8,306 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 Goeschel 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 | #141,140 | #149,446 | -5.9% |
| Count | 118 | 110 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goeschel bearers went from 118 to 110 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 8,306 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #149,446.
FAQ
Goeschel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goeschel?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Goeschel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Goeschel?
Goeschel ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Goeschel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Goeschel.
Has Goeschel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goeschel went from 118 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Goeschel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goeschel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Goeschel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goeschel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Goeschel (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 Goeschel mean?
A Germanic surname derived from a place name meaning "little water or stream." 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 Goeschel (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 have the surname Goeschel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.