Goldie last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Goldie is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Goldie.

Meaning of Goldie

A Scottish surname derived from the Middle English "gold," likely referring to someone with golden-colored hair or complexion.

Goldie, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Goldie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goldie in America

Goldie is the 18715th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goldie surname appeared 1,468 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Goldie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goldie to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 18715 18551 0.88%
Count 1,468 1,372 6.76%
Proportion per 100k 0.50 0.51 -1.98%

The history of the last name Goldie

The surname Goldie is a habitational name that originated in Scotland. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "gille," meaning a servant or attendant, and the Scots word "gowdye," meaning a goldsmith or jeweler. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who worked as a goldsmith or jeweler, or perhaps a servant of a goldsmith.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Goldie can be traced back to the late 16th century in the Renfrewshire area of Scotland. One of the earliest documented references to the name is in the Paisley Parish Registers from 1598, which mention a William Goldie.

In the 17th century, the surname Goldie appeared in various Scottish records, including the Old Parochial Registers of Lochwinnoch in 1642, where a John Goldie was recorded. The name also appeared in the Canongate Parish Registers in Edinburgh in 1688, with the entry of a Janet Goldie.

During the 18th century, the surname Goldie became more widespread in Scotland, with notable individuals including John Goldie (1717-1809), a Scottish minister and author from Pembrokeshire, and Andrew Goldie (1793-1841), a Scottish botanist and explorer who traveled to North America.

In the 19th century, several prominent individuals bore the surname Goldie. George Troup Goldie (1804-1869) was a Scottish merchant and explorer who was instrumental in establishing British colonial rule in Nigeria. Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (1846-1925), also known as Goldie Taubman, was a British colonial administrator and the founder of the Royal Niger Company.

Another notable figure from this period was Samuel Goldie (1822-1888), a Scottish civil engineer who played a significant role in the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. His son, Sir John Richard Goldie (1858-1926), followed in his footsteps and became a prominent civil engineer as well, known for his work on the Mersey Railway Tunnel.

As the surname Goldie spread beyond Scotland, it was sometimes anglicized to different spellings, such as Gouldie or Gowdie, particularly in England and Ireland. However, the original Scottish spelling of Goldie remained the most common form throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goldie

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Goldie.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Goldie was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 91.96% 1,350
Non-Hispanic Black Only 2.11% 31
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.16% 17
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.45% 36
Hispanic Origin 2.32% 34

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Goldie has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 91.96% 92.42% -0.50%
Black 2.11% 2.92% -32.21%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.16% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.45% 1.68% 37.29%
Hispanic 2.32% 1.82% 24.15%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Goldie was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Goldie, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Goldie last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/goldie-surname-popularity/.

"Goldie last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/goldie-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Goldie last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/goldie-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.