2000
#115,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Goldhagen
A surname of German origin, derived from "Gold" and "Hagen," literally meaning a person from a hagen (village) where gold was found or mined.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Goldhagen. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goldhagen 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Goldhagen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldhagen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goldhagen
The surname Goldhagen originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Middle High German words "gold" meaning gold and "hagen" meaning hedge or enclosure. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a golden-colored hedge or fence, or possibly a person who worked with gold.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Stadtbücher von Colmar, a collection of municipal records from the city of Colmar in Alsace, France (at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire). In 1382, a "Hensel Goldhagen" is mentioned as a resident.
The Goldhagen name can also be found in various other historical documents from the 14th to 16th centuries, such as tax records, land deeds, and guild registers from various German cities and regions, including Nuremberg, Cologne, and Saxony.
One notable early bearer of the name was Johannes Goldhagen (c. 1450-1510), a German humanist scholar and educator from Saxony. He served as the rector of the famous Latin school in Zwickau and was a respected teacher of many prominent Renaissance figures.
Another individual of note was Hans Goldhagen (1528-1591), a German goldsmith and engraver from Nuremberg. His intricate metalwork and engravings were highly prized and can be found in various museums across Europe.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Goldhagen family migrated to the Netherlands, where the name was sometimes spelled as "Goudenhagen." One member of this branch, Pieter Goudenhagen (1610-1678), was a successful merchant and alderman in Amsterdam.
As the name spread across Europe, various spelling variations emerged, including Goldenhagen, Goldhagen, Goudenhagen, and Goldhahn, among others. Notable bearers of these variants include the German philosopher and philosopher Daniel Goldhahn (1694-1756) and the Dutch painter Dirck Goudenhagen (1619-1691).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goldhagen
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldhagen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Goldhagen 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 Goldhagen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 7
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goldhagen
Goldhagen 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
-17 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,960 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-7 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,579 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #115,489 | 140 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 20,960 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 8,579 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 Goldhagen 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 | #136,449 | #145,028 | -6.3% |
| Count | 123 | 116 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goldhagen bearers went from 123 to 116 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 8,579 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #145,028.
FAQ
Goldhagen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goldhagen?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Goldhagen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Goldhagen?
Goldhagen ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 116 people with the surname Goldhagen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Goldhagen.
Has Goldhagen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goldhagen went from 123 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Goldhagen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldhagen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Goldhagen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goldhagen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (6.0%), Black (2.6%). 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 Goldhagen (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 Goldhagen mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from "Gold" and "Hagen," literally meaning a person from a hagen (village) where gold was found or mined. 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 Goldhagen (0.04 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 people are called Goldhagen?
If you just want to know how common the surname Goldhagen is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.