2000
#9,673
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,082
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Goldsberry
An English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a gooseberry bush on gold-colored soil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,494 Americans carry the last name Goldsberry. That puts it at #10,083 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,098 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goldsberry 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
3.5K
1 in 98,098
Census rank
#10,083
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,047 bearers of the surname Goldsberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10083rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldsberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goldsberry
The surname Goldsberry originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from a place called Goldsborough or Goldisbrough, which were old spellings of villages found in Yorkshire and Lancashire. These place names likely came from the Old English words 'golde' meaning 'yellow' and 'burgh' meaning 'fortified town or manor'.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname was found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. The name appeared as 'Goldesburgh' in these rolls. During the 13th and 14th centuries, other variations like 'Goldesborough', 'Goldesburghe', and 'Goldisbrough' were also seen in various records.
In the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror, there were entries for places like 'Goldisburc' and 'Goluesburgh' that may have been early forms of the name's origin.
Notable individuals with the surname Goldsberry include John Goldsberry, who was born in 1638 in Warwickshire, England, and later immigrated to America. Another early American bearer of the name was William Goldsberry, born in 1668 in Yorkshire, England, who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century.
In more recent history, Sanford Goldsberry was an American teacher and politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in the late 19th century. He was born in 1826 and died in 1906. Wendy Goldsberry, born in 1932, was a British actress known for her roles in television shows like Coronation Street and The Benny Hill Show.
Finally, Renée Elise Goldsberry is a contemporary American actress and singer who gained fame for her role in the Broadway musical Hamilton. She was born in 1971 and has won a Tony Award and a Grammy Award for her work in theatre.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goldsberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldsberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Goldsberry 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 Goldsberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 2,436
- Black or African American11.2% · 342
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 116
- Two or more races3.7% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goldsberry
Goldsberry 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
#10,159
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,176
+94 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 486 places
2020
#10,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,047
-129 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,673 | 3,082 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,159 | 3,176 | 1.08 | +94 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 486 places |
| 2020 | #10,083 | 3,047 | 1.02 | -129 bearers (-4.1%) | Up 76 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 Goldsberry 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 | #10,159 | #10,083 | 0.7% |
| Count | 3,176 | 3,047 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 1.02 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goldsberry bearers went from 3,176 to 3,047 (-4.1% change). The surname moved up 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,159 to #10,083.
FAQ
Goldsberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goldsberry?
Name Census estimates that about 3,494 living Americans carry the surname Goldsberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,098 residents.
How common is Goldsberry?
Goldsberry ranks #10,083 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,047 people with the surname Goldsberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,494), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Goldsberry.
Has Goldsberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goldsberry went from 3,176 recorded bearers to 3,047. That is a decrease of 129 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,159 to #10,083.
What does the Census say about the background of Goldsberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldsberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Goldsberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (2,436 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goldsberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Black (11.2%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Goldsberry (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 Goldsberry mean?
An English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a gooseberry bush on gold-colored soil. 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 Goldsberry (1.02 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 Goldsberry?
Find out how many people have the last name Goldsberry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.