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

Goldsworthy, 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 Goldsworthy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goldsworthy in America

Goldsworthy is the 22663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goldsworthy surname appeared 1,132 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Goldsworthy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goldsworthy 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.

The history of the last name Goldsworthy

The surname Goldsworthy originated in England, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the place name Goldsworthy, which is found in the county of Cornwall. The name is believed to be a combination of the Old English words "golde" meaning "yellow" and "wordig" meaning "enclosure or homestead," suggesting that the name referred to a homestead or settlement where gorse, a type of yellow-flowering shrub, grew abundantly.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Assize Rolls of Cornwall from 1284, which reference a person named Richard de Goldesworthye. The name also appears in the Cornish Subsidy Rolls of 1327, where it is spelled as Goldesworthi.

During the medieval period, the Goldsworthy family was well-established in Cornwall, with several members holding prominent positions in the local community. In the 15th century, John Goldsworthy (c. 1420 - c. 1490) served as the Mayor of Bodmin, a town in Cornwall.

As the Goldsworthy family spread across England, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Goldsworthy, Goldesworth, and Goldsworth. One notable figure from this period was William Goldsworthy (c. 1550 - 1615), a merchant and ship owner from Plymouth, who played a role in the early colonization efforts in North America.

In the 17th century, Edward Goldsworthy (c. 1595 - 1670) was a prominent landowner and justice of the peace in Cornwall, while his son, Francis Goldsworthy (c. 1620 - 1685), was a renowned Cornish antiquarian and writer.

During the 18th century, the Goldsworthy family gained recognition in the military. Sir Philip Goldsworthy (1734 - 1801) was a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and his son, Philip Goldsworthy (1770 - 1837), followed in his footsteps and became a major-general in the British Army.

Another notable figure from this period was Robert Goldsworthy (1737 - 1804), an English architect and surveyor who designed several buildings in Cornwall, including the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

As the centuries progressed, the Goldsworthy name continued to be associated with various professions and achievements, with individuals from this lineage making their mark in fields such as science, literature, and the arts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goldsworthy

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

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 Goldsworthy was:

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 Goldsworthy has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Goldsworthy was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Goldsworthy, 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!