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

Gooch, 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 Gooch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gooch in America

Gooch is the 3155th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gooch surname appeared 11,453 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Gooch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gooch 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 Gooch

The surname Gooch is believed to have originated in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the late 12th century. One theory suggests that the name is derived from the Old English word "gog," meaning "mass" or "lump," potentially referring to a physical characteristic or location.

Another hypothesis traces the name's roots to the Old French word "gouche," meaning "left-handed" or "awkward." This could indicate that the name was initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a perceived physical trait or characteristic. The spelling variations "Goche," "Goch," and "Gocche" can be found in historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries.

In the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are references to individuals with similar names, such as "Goce" and "Gocelin." These entries suggest that the name or its variants were present in the region during the Norman conquest.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gooch can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a Richard Goche is mentioned. Another notable early bearer of the name was Sir Robert Gooch (1384-1451), a prominent English landowner and member of Parliament during the 15th century.

Throughout history, several noteworthy individuals have carried the Gooch surname. These include Sir William Gooch (1681-1751), a British colonial governor of Virginia, and Daniel Whitehead Gooch (1816-1889), an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.

Other notable bearers of the name include Sir Daniel Gooch (1816-1889), a British engineer and locomotive designer, and Frank Gooch (1887-1968), an American baseball player who competed in the major leagues from 1911 to 1918.

Additionally, the surname Gooch has been associated with various place names in England, such as Gooch's Mill in Hertfordshire and Gooch's Farm in Norfolk, further reinforcing the name's long-standing presence in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gooch

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

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

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