2000
#55,609
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 345
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Goitia
A Basque surname likely referring to someone from a prominent place or family.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 558 Americans carry the last name Goitia. That puts it at #47,035 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 614,255 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goitia 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
558
1 in 614,255
Census rank
#47,035
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
487
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 487 bearers of the surname Goitia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 47035th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goitia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goitia
The surname Goitia has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It is derived from the Basque word "goiti," which means "high" or "elevated." This suggests that the name may have been originally given to someone who lived in an elevated or hilly area.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Goitia can be found in medieval documents from the 12th and 13th centuries in the Basque provinces of Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa. One notable mention is in the Codice de Calahorra, a collection of medieval documents from the Diocese of Calahorra, where the name appears as "Goyti" or "Goyty."
In the 16th century, the name Goitia is mentioned in various historical records from the Basque Country, including the Libro de Repartimiento de Lequeitio, which details the distribution of lands and properties in the town of Lequeitio. This document lists several individuals with the surname Goitia as landowners and residents of the area.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Goitia was Juan de Goitia, a Basque nobleman and military commander who lived in the 15th century. He served under King Juan II of Aragon and played a significant role in the conquest of the Canary Islands.
Another notable figure with the surname Goitia was Juan Bautista de Goitia y Porres, a 17th-century Spanish priest and theologian who served as the Bishop of Coria and later as the Bishop of Calahorra y La Calzada.
In the 18th century, José Ignacio de Goitia y Goyeneche was a prominent Basque merchant and financier who amassed a significant fortune through his trading activities in the Spanish colonies of the Americas.
A more recent individual with the surname Goitia was Ignacio Goitia, a Spanish writer and journalist who lived from 1892 to 1976. He was known for his works on Basque culture and history, including the book "Los Vascos" (The Basques).
Throughout history, the surname Goitia has maintained a strong presence in the Basque regions of Spain and France, with variations in spelling such as Goytia, Goytino, and Goytino-Goyti appearing in various historical documents and records.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goitia
Among Census respondents with the surname Goitia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Goitia 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 Goitia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.2% · 420
- White10.3% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- Black or African American1.0% · 5
- Two or more races0.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goitia
Goitia 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
#52,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 395
+50 bearers (+14.5%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Up 3,127 places
2020
#47,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 487
+92 bearers (+23.3%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 5,447 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #55,609 | 345 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #52,482 | 395 | 0.13 | +50 bearers (+14.5%) | Up 3,127 places |
| 2020 | #47,035 | 487 | 0.16 | +92 bearers (+23.3%) | Up 5,447 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 Goitia 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 | #52,482 | #47,035 | 10.4% |
| Count | 395 | 487 | 23.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.16 | 25.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goitia bearers went from 395 to 487 (+23.3% change). The surname moved up 5,447 positions in the national ranking, going from #52,482 to #47,035.
FAQ
Goitia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goitia?
Name Census estimates that about 558 living Americans carry the surname Goitia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 614,255 residents.
How common is Goitia?
Goitia ranks #47,035 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 487 people with the surname Goitia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Goitia.
Has Goitia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goitia went from 395 recorded bearers to 487. That is an increase of 92 (+23.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #52,482 to #47,035.
What does the Census say about the background of Goitia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goitia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Goitia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goitia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (86.2%), White (10.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). 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 Goitia (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 Goitia mean?
A Basque surname likely referring to someone from a prominent place or family. 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 Goitia (0.16 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 Goitia?
Find out how common the surname Goitia is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.