Goggins last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Goggins

An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Gógáin, meaning "descendant of Gógán," a personal name of uncertain origin.

Goggins, 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 Goggins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goggins in America

Goggins is the 10979th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goggins surname appeared 2,897 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Goggins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goggins 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 10979 10208 7.28%
Count 2,897 2,897 0.00%
Proportion per 100k 0.98 1.07 -8.78%

The history of the last name Goggins

The surname Goggins has its origins in the British Isles, specifically in England and Wales. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "gog," which means "to go" or "to move." This suggests that the name may have been a descriptive one, referring to someone who moved frequently or was a traveler.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goggins can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Gogginges." This entry indicates that the name was already established in England by the late 11th century. Over time, the spelling evolved to its current form, Goggins.

In the 13th century, records show a Richard Goggyn residing in Gloucestershire, England. This is one of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Goggins or a similar variation. Another notable figure was John Gogyn, born in 1387 in Shropshire, England, who served as a member of the local gentry.

During the 16th century, the Goggins surname was found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, where a family named Goggins resided in the village of Ripon. One notable member of this family was Richard Goggins, born in 1543, who was a successful merchant and landowner.

In the 17th century, the name Goggins appeared in several parish records in Wales, particularly in the counties of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. One prominent individual was Thomas Goggins, born in 1612 in Pembrokeshire, who was a wealthy landowner and served as a magistrate.

As the centuries progressed, the Goggins surname spread across the British Isles and beyond, with many families emigrating to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. One notable figure from this period was William Goggins, born in 1764 in Ireland, who served as a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

While the surname Goggins is not among the most common in the English-speaking world, it has a rich history that can be traced back to the medieval period in England and Wales. The name's origins likely stem from a descriptive term related to movement or travel, reflecting the lives of its earliest bearers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goggins

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

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 Goggins was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 50.64% 1,467
Non-Hispanic Black Only 42.94% 1,244
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.35% 10
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.28% 8
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.62% 76
Hispanic Origin 3.18% 92

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 50.64% 54.16% -6.72%
Black 42.94% 41.56% 3.27%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.35% 0.52% -39.08%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.28% 0.55% -65.06%
Two or More Races 2.62% 1.79% 37.64%
Hispanic 3.18% 1.42% 76.52%

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

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

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"Goggins last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/goggins-surname-popularity/.

"Goggins last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/goggins-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

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