2000
#61,713
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 304
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Goldblum
A German surname referring to a blooming golden flower or plant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 353 Americans carry the last name Goldblum. That puts it at #68,789 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 970,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goldblum 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
353
1 in 970,975
Census rank
#68,789
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
308
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 308 bearers of the surname Goldblum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 68789th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldblum, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goldblum
The surname Goldblum originates from Germany, dating back to the 17th century. It is derived from the German words "gold," meaning gold, and "blum," meaning flower or blossom. The name likely referred to a person who lived near a field of yellow flowers or worked with gold.
Goldblum is a relatively rare surname, but it has been recorded in various historical documents throughout the centuries. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the city of Nuremberg, where a family by the name of Goldblum was recorded in the late 1600s.
In the 18th century, the Goldblum name appeared in several parish registers and tax records in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. A notable individual from this time period was Johann Goldblum, a master craftsman born in Regensburg in 1742, who was renowned for his intricate woodcarvings.
As the 19th century dawned, the Goldblum family spread across various German states, with some members settling in the Rhine region and others migrating to neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. One of the most prominent figures of this era was Friedrich Goldblum, a philosopher and educator born in Heidelberg in 1813, who published several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Goldblums immigrated to the United States and other parts of the world, seeking new opportunities. One such individual was Max Goldblum, a German-born American businessman born in 1875, who established a successful textile manufacturing company in New York City.
Another notable figure was Theodor Goldblum, a Swiss economist and political scientist born in 1890, who made significant contributions to the study of international trade and economic cooperation.
Throughout the 20th century, the Goldblum name continued to be carried by a diverse range of individuals, including artists, writers, and academics. One of the most famous contemporary figures with this surname is Jeff Goldblum, the American actor born in 1952, known for his roles in films such as Jurassic Park and The Fly.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goldblum
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldblum, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Goldblum 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 Goldblum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 18
- Two or more races3.9% · 12
- Black or African American0.6% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goldblum
Goldblum 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
#60,960
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 330
+26 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 753 places
2020
#68,789
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 308
-22 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 7,829 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #61,713 | 304 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #60,960 | 330 | 0.11 | +26 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 753 places |
| 2020 | #68,789 | 308 | 0.10 | -22 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 7,829 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 Goldblum 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 | #60,960 | #68,789 | -12.8% |
| Count | 330 | 308 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.10 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goldblum bearers went from 330 to 308 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 7,829 positions in the national ranking, going from #60,960 to #68,789.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Goldblum
FAQ
Goldblum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goldblum?
Name Census estimates that about 353 living Americans carry the surname Goldblum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 970,975 residents.
How common is Goldblum?
Goldblum ranks #68,789 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 308 people with the surname Goldblum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (353), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Goldblum.
Has Goldblum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goldblum went from 330 recorded bearers to 308. That is a decrease of 22 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #60,960 to #68,789.
What does the Census say about the background of Goldblum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldblum, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Goldblum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (274 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goldblum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (5.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Goldblum (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 Goldblum mean?
A German surname referring to a blooming golden flower or plant. 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 Goldblum (0.10 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 many Americans have the surname Goldblum?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.