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

Goodenough, 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 Goodenough surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goodenough in America

Goodenough is the 16975th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goodenough surname appeared 1,674 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Goodenough.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goodenough 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 Goodenough

The surname Goodenough has its origins in England, tracing back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "gōd" and "enog," meaning "good" and "enough" respectively. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone considered virtuous or of good character.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1212, where a person named Godenough de Wavenden is mentioned. This suggests that the name may have been associated with the village of Wavendon in Buckinghamshire.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Godenow, Godynough, and Godenoghe, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling practices of the time.

The Goodenough surname has been linked to several notable figures throughout history. Richard Goodenough (c. 1540-1601) was an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Carlisle from 1590 until his death. Edmund Goodenough (1617-1696) was an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Thetford in the late 17th century.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Samuel Goodenough (1743-1827), an English churchman and botanist who served as the Bishop of Carlisle from 1808 to 1827. He made significant contributions to the study of botany and was a fellow of the Royal Society.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Goodenough surname dates back to the 17th century. John Goodenough (1592-1667) was an English colonist who settled in Massachusetts in the 1630s and became one of the founders of Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Throughout history, the Goodenough surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Goodenough Island in the Pacific Ocean and Goodenough Township in Michigan.

While the surname may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it has since evolved into a distinct family name carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goodenough

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

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

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