2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Goniwicha
A surname possibly derived from a Polish place name, its meaning is uncertain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Goniwicha. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goniwicha 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Goniwicha in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goniwicha, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goniwicha
The surname GONIWICHA is believed to have originated in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, possibly in what is now modern-day Poland or the neighboring areas. It likely emerged sometime in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th centuries.
One potential origin of the name is that it may have derived from the Slavic word "gon," which meant "pursuit" or "hunt," combined with a suffix like "-icha" or "-wicha," denoting a profession or occupation. In this case, GONIWICHA could have referred to someone who was a hunter or a tracker.
Another possibility is that the name may be related to a specific place or location, potentially a village or town with a similar-sounding name. It's not uncommon for surnames to have evolved from the names of local settlements or geographical features.
While there are no definitive historical records indicating the earliest instances of the GONIWICHA surname, it's possible that it may have been mentioned in local parish records, tax rolls, or other administrative documents from the medieval period in the region where it originated.
One of the earliest known individuals with the GONIWICHA surname was Jakub GONIWICHA, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Gorzkowice in the Krakow region of Poland in the late 16th century, around 1580.
Another notable figure was Mikołaj GONIWICHA, a soldier who fought in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's army during the 17th century conflicts against Sweden and Russia, such as the Smolensk War (1632-1634) and the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667).
In the 18th century, there was a merchant named Jan GONIWICHA who traded in textiles and operated a successful business in the city of Lviv, which at the time was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in modern-day Ukraine).
During the 19th century, a prominent GONIWICHA was Stanisław GONIWICHA, a philosopher and professor who taught at the University of Warsaw and wrote several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the early 20th century, one notable individual was Maria GONIWICHA, a Polish artist and painter who was part of the Young Poland movement and known for her vibrant landscapes and portraits depicting rural life in the Polish countryside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goniwicha
Among Census respondents with the surname Goniwicha, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Goniwicha 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 Goniwicha surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goniwicha
Goniwicha 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+6 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,391 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-15 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,761 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 3,391 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 13,761 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 Goniwicha 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 | #139,228 | #152,989 | -9.9% |
| Count | 120 | 105 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goniwicha bearers went from 120 to 105 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 13,761 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #152,989.
FAQ
Goniwicha surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goniwicha?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Goniwicha. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Goniwicha?
Goniwicha ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Goniwicha. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Goniwicha.
Has Goniwicha become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goniwicha went from 120 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Goniwicha?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goniwicha, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Goniwicha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goniwicha appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (6.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Goniwicha (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 Goniwicha mean?
A surname possibly derived from a Polish place name, its meaning is uncertain. 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 Goniwicha (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 Goniwicha?
See how many people have the surname Goniwicha on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.