2000
#10,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,929
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Goines
Derived from the Old French personal name "Gouin" or "Goin," likely meaning "friend" or "companion."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,742 Americans carry the last name Goines. That puts it at #9,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,597 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goines 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
3.7K
1 in 91,597
Census rank
#9,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,263 bearers of the surname Goines in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goines, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.4%. The next largest groups are White (36.2%) and Two or More Races (7.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goines
The surname Goines is believed to have originated in the region of Gascony, in southwestern France, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old French word "goinet," which means "young shepherd" or "goatherd."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goines can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Goineis," likely referring to a person of French origin who may have been a shepherd or goatherd by profession.
In the 12th century, the name Goines was found in various records and charters in the Gascony region of France. One notable bearer of the name was Guillaume de Goines, a nobleman who lived in the late 12th century and was a vassal of the Count of Armagnac.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Goines began to spread across Europe, with various spellings such as Goynes, Goyns, and Goynes appearing in different regions. In England, the name was often associated with the village of Goines or Goynes, which was located in Suffolk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goines in the Americas dates back to the late 17th century when Jean-Baptiste Goines, a French Huguenot, immigrated to Virginia in 1690. He is believed to be the ancestor of many American families bearing the Goines surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Goines. These include:
1. William Goines (c. 1620-1679), an English settler in Virginia who was a prominent landowner and planter.
2. John Goines (1745-1827), an American Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia who fought in several major battles.
3. Sarah Goines (1779-1851), an American pioneer and one of the first settlers in the area that would become Indianapolis, Indiana.
4. Ebenezer Goines (1790-1867), an American Baptist minister and abolitionist who was known for his opposition to slavery.
5. Clarence Goines (1899-1975), an American blues musician and singer from Mississippi who was active in the early 20th century.
While the origins of the surname Goines can be traced back to medieval France, it has since spread across various regions and countries, with different spellings and variations emerging over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goines
Among Census respondents with the surname Goines, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.4%. The next largest groups are White (36.2%) and Two or More Races (7.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Goines 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 Goines surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.4% · 1,644
- White36.2% · 1,181
- Two or more races7.8% · 254
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goines
Goines 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
#9,956
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,242
+313 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Up 167 places
2020
#9,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,263
+21 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 427 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,123 | 2,929 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,956 | 3,242 | 1.10 | +313 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 167 places |
| 2020 | #9,529 | 3,263 | 1.09 | +21 bearers (+0.6%) | Up 427 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 Goines 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 | #9,956 | #9,529 | 4.3% |
| Count | 3,242 | 3,263 | 0.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 1.09 | -0.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goines bearers went from 3,242 to 3,263 (+0.6% change). The surname moved up 427 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,956 to #9,529.
FAQ
Goines surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goines?
Name Census estimates that about 3,742 living Americans carry the surname Goines. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,597 residents.
How common is Goines?
Goines ranks #9,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 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 3,263 people with the surname Goines. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,742), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 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 Goines.
Has Goines become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goines went from 3,242 recorded bearers to 3,263. That is an increase of 21 (+0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,956 to #9,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Goines?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goines, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.4%. The next largest groups are White (36.2%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Goines in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.4% (1,644 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goines appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (50.4%), White (36.2%), Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Goines (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 Goines mean?
Derived from the Old French personal name "Gouin" or "Goin," likely meaning "friend" or "companion." 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 Goines (1.09 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 Goines?
You can see how many people have the surname Goines on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.