2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Goldtrap
A descriptive occupational surname referring to a hunter or trapper of small animals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Goldtrap. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goldtrap 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Goldtrap in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldtrap, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goldtrap
The surname Goldtrap is believed to have originated in England during the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "gold" and "trap," which together likely referred to a person who made or set traps for catching animals for their fur or other valuable materials.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goldtrap can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1275, which mention a John Goldtrap who was a furrier in the village of Stamford. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1327, where a William Goldtrap is listed as a resident of the town of Tewkesbury.
In the 15th century, the Goldtrap family appears to have been concentrated in the counties of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The Visitation of Oxfordshire of 1634 records a Thomas Goldtrap (1580-1648) who was a wealthy landowner and member of the gentry class in the village of Bampton.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, several members of the Goldtrap family achieved notable positions. Robert Goldtrap (1525-1592) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol, while his cousin, William Goldtrap (1538-1618), was a Member of Parliament for the borough of Reading during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Perhaps the most famous bearer of the Goldtrap name was Sir Henry Goldtrap (1620-1684), a renowned military commander who fought for the Royalist forces during the English Civil War. He was knighted by King Charles II in 1660 for his bravery and loyalty.
Other notable individuals with the surname Goldtrap include:
1. Elizabeth Goldtrap (1675-1742), a pioneering educator and founder of one of the first girls' schools in London.
2. John Goldtrap (1745-1812), a celebrated landscape painter whose works are housed in several prestigious art galleries across Britain.
3. Richard Goldtrap (1795-1871), a renowned botanist and explorer who led several expeditions to the Amazon rainforest in search of new plant species.
4. Mary Goldtrap (1842-1924), a prominent suffragette and activist for women's rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5. James Goldtrap (1885-1957), a renowned architect who designed several iconic buildings in the Art Deco style, including the Goldtrap Tower in London.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goldtrap
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldtrap, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Goldtrap 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 Goldtrap surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 107
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goldtrap
Goldtrap 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
-10 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,881 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-14 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 14,881 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 14,464 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 Goldtrap 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 | #129,047 | #143,511 | -11.2% |
| Count | 132 | 118 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goldtrap bearers went from 132 to 118 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 14,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #143,511.
FAQ
Goldtrap surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goldtrap?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Goldtrap. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Goldtrap?
Goldtrap ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Goldtrap. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Goldtrap.
Has Goldtrap become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goldtrap went from 132 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Goldtrap?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goldtrap, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Goldtrap in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goldtrap appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Goldtrap (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 Goldtrap mean?
A descriptive occupational surname referring to a hunter or trapper of small animals. 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 Goldtrap (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 have the last name Goldtrap?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Goldtrap on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.