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

Golphin, 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 Golphin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Golphin in America

Golphin is the 34707th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Golphin surname appeared 651 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 Golphin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Golphin 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 Golphin

The surname Golphin has its origins in England, dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "golpe" and "fin," which together mean "a golden fin." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with someone who had a particular fondness for goldfish or had a connection to the trade or breeding of these fish.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Golphin can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, a historical record of tax payments made to the English Crown. In the year 1327, a certain William Golphin is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Cheltenham.

The name Golphin also appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, which date back to the 15th century. Here, a John Golphin is listed as a tenant farmer in the year 1462.

During the Tudor period, the Golphin family seems to have been particularly prominent in the county of Dorset. A Thomas Golphin (1505-1572) is recorded as having served as the Sheriff of Dorset in 1554, while his son, also named Thomas Golphin (1536-1607), was a member of the English Parliament for the borough of Melcombe Regis.

In the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname Golphin was Sir John Golphin (1619-1689), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. He was knighted in 1665 for his service and later became a Member of Parliament for the town of Huntingdon.

Another individual of note was Captain Richard Golphin (1670-1736), a British privateer and explorer who is credited with being one of the first Europeans to map the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

As the name spread across England, it also took on various spellings such as Goulphin, Golfin, and Golfen. The Golphin surname can also be found in parts of Scotland and Ireland, likely as a result of migration from England in later centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Golphin

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

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

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

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