2000
#8,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,657
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Goings
An English surname probably derived from the village of Gouings in Normandy, France, or from a nickname for a messenger.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,234 Americans carry the last name Goings. That puts it at #8,555 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,953 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goings 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
4.2K
1 in 80,953
Census rank
#8,555
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,692 bearers of the surname Goings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8555th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goings, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goings
Among Census respondents with the surname Goings, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Goings 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 Goings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.8% · 2,280
- Black or African American22.4% · 826
- Two or more races6.5% · 239
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 167
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 152
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goings
Goings 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
#8,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,741
+84 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Down 436 places
2020
#8,555
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,692
-49 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Up 210 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,329 | 3,657 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,765 | 3,741 | 1.27 | +84 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 436 places |
| 2020 | #8,555 | 3,692 | 1.24 | -49 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 210 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 Goings 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 | #8,765 | #8,555 | 2.4% |
| Count | 3,741 | 3,692 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.24 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goings bearers went from 3,741 to 3,692 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 210 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,765 to #8,555.
FAQ
Goings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goings?
Name Census estimates that about 4,234 living Americans carry the surname Goings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,953 residents.
How common is Goings?
Goings ranks #8,555 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.24 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 3,692 people with the surname Goings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,234), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.24 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 Goings.
Has Goings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goings went from 3,741 recorded bearers to 3,692. That is a decrease of 49 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,765 to #8,555.
What does the Census say about the background of Goings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goings, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Goings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.8% (2,280 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.8%), Black (22.4%), Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Goings (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 Goings mean?
An English surname probably derived from the village of Gouings in Normandy, France, or from a nickname for a messenger. 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 Goings (1.24 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 Goings?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Goings at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.