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

Goings, 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 Goings surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goings in America

Goings is the 8765th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goings surname appeared 3,741 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 Goings.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goings 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.

The history of the last name Goings

The surname Goings has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word 'gang', meaning to go or walk. The name may have been used to describe someone who was a traveler or wanderer.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where a Hugo le Goyng is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use as a surname by the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Goyng, Goinges, and Goynges. The Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire in 1273 lists a Robertus Goyng, while the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire in 1332 mention a Johannes Goinges.

The Goings surname is also linked to several place names in England, including Goyng's Farm in Worcestershire and Goings Court in Sussex. These place names may have influenced the spelling and distribution of the surname over time.

One notable figure in history with the surname Goings was William Goings (1605-1683), a Puritan minister who emigrated from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century. He was among the founders of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and served as the town's first minister.

Another individual with the Goings surname was John Goings (1712-1788), a American Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia. He fought in several battles, including the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781.

In the 19th century, Erastus Goings (1810-1891) was a prominent lawyer and politician from Ohio. He served as a judge and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in the 1850s.

John Randolph Goings (1849-1922) was a Baptist minister and educator from Virginia. He served as the president of Hartshorn Memorial College, a historically black college in Richmond, Virginia, from 1890 to 1922.

More recently, Denise Goings (born 1962) is an American author and historian known for her work on African American genealogy and history. She has written several books, including "The Family Tree: African American Genealogical Research at the National Archives" (2001).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goings

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

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 Goings was:

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!