2000
#3,777
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,614
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.19
Rare Last name
Goforth
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "goat ford" or "good ford."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,433 Americans carry the last name Goforth. That puts it at #4,169 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,336 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goforth 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Goforth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,336
Census rank
#4,169
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,226 bearers of the surname Goforth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4169th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goforth, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goforth
The surname Goforth originated in England and Scotland during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the old English phrase "go forth," which meant to venture out or travel. This name was likely given to someone who journeyed frequently or lived a nomadic lifestyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goforth can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, England, from the late 13th century. Here, it was spelled as "Gofurth." This spelling variation suggests that the name evolved over time through regional dialects and scribal errors.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as "Gofurth," "Goforthe," and "Goforth," in records from counties like Wiltshire, Somerset, and Gloucestershire in England. The spelling "Goforth" became more standardized by the 16th and 17th centuries.
The name Goforth is also linked to certain place names in England, such as Goforth Hill in Gloucestershire and Goforth Marsh in Somerset. These locations may have influenced the surname's development or served as residences for early bearers of the name.
Notable individuals with the surname Goforth include William Goforth (1576-1658), an English clergyman and author known for his religious writings. John Goforth (1845-1920) was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary who served in China during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In Scotland, the name has connections to the Goforth family of Lanarkshire, where Sir John Goforth (1633-1705) was a prominent landowner and member of the Scottish Parliament. Another notable figure was James Goforth (1679-1749), a Scottish merchant and shipowner based in Glasgow.
The Goforth surname also found its way to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the earliest recorded individuals was William Goforth (1627-1695), an English Quaker who settled in Pennsylvania and became a prominent landowner.
Throughout its history, the surname Goforth has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including clergymen, missionaries, merchants, landowners, and politicians. While the name's origins are rooted in the concept of travel and exploration, it has become a distinctive surname with a rich heritage across different regions and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goforth
Among Census respondents with the surname Goforth, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Goforth 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 Goforth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 7,136
- Two or more races4.6% · 375
- Black or African American3.6% · 297
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 271
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goforth
Goforth 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
#4,068
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,735
+121 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 2.96
Rank movement Down 291 places
2020
#4,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,226
-509 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,777 | 8,614 | 3.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,068 | 8,735 | 2.96 | +121 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 291 places |
| 2020 | #4,169 | 8,226 | 2.75 | -509 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 101 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 Goforth 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 | #4,068 | #4,169 | -2.5% |
| Count | 8,735 | 8,226 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.96 | 2.75 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goforth bearers went from 8,735 to 8,226 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,068 to #4,169.
FAQ
Goforth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goforth?
Name Census estimates that about 9,433 living Americans carry the surname Goforth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,336 residents.
How common is Goforth?
Goforth ranks #4,169 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,226 people with the surname Goforth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,433), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Goforth.
Has Goforth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goforth went from 8,735 recorded bearers to 8,226. That is a decrease of 509 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,068 to #4,169.
What does the Census say about the background of Goforth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goforth, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.6%). 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 Goforth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (7,136 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goforth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (3.6%). 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 Goforth (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 Goforth mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "goat ford" or "good ford." 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 Goforth (2.75 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 Goforth?
If you just want to know how common the surname Goforth is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.