2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Goldesberry
English habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Goldsborough, derived from Old English meaning "gold stronghold".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Goldesberry. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goldesberry 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Goldesberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldesberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goldesberry
The surname GOLDESBERRY is an English name that originated in the county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England during the late medieval period. The name is derived from the Old English words "golde" meaning golden and "bury" meaning a fortified town or manor, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived in or near a town or manor with the prefix "golden".
Records from the 13th century make mention of a village called Goldbury in Derbyshire, which is likely the place from which the name originated. The earliest known spelling of the name was "de Goldebury" as recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Derbyshire in 1273.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various court and parish records with spellings such as "Gouldesberry", "Goldesberrie", and "Goldisberry". One notable bearer of the name during this time was John Goldesberry, a landowner and merchant who lived in the village of Duffield, Derbyshire in the late 1500s.
The Goldesberry family continued to reside in the Derbyshire region throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, with some branches of the family moving to neighboring counties such as Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. In the 19th century, several members of the Goldesberry family were recorded in the village of Mackworth, Derbyshire, including William Goldesberry (1801-1879) and his son John Goldesberry (1832-1901), both of whom were farmers.
Another prominent individual with the surname was Sir Robert Goldesberry (1768-1842), a successful businessman and politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the borough of Derby from 1818 to 1830. He was also a noted philanthropist and contributed significant funds towards the construction of several churches and schools in the Derby area.
Outside of England, the name also found its way to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, with families such as the Goldesberrys of Virginia being among the early settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was that of Thomas Goldesberry, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and later became a landowner in the colony.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goldesberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldesberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Goldesberry 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 Goldesberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 77
- Two or more races13.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.0% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goldesberry
Goldesberry 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+12 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,954 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-15 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 11,541 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 2,954 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 11,541 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 Goldesberry 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 | #144,141 | #155,682 | -8.0% |
| Count | 115 | 100 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goldesberry bearers went from 115 to 100 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 11,541 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #155,682.
FAQ
Goldesberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goldesberry?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Goldesberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Goldesberry?
Goldesberry ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Goldesberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Goldesberry.
Has Goldesberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goldesberry went from 115 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 15 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Goldesberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldesberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.0%). 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 Goldesberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (77 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goldesberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.0%), Two or More Races (13.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (7.0%). 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 Goldesberry (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 Goldesberry mean?
English habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Goldsborough, derived from Old English meaning "gold stronghold". 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 Goldesberry (0.03 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 Goldesberry?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.