Goodlow last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Goodlow

An English surname meaning a good or fertile low-lying area.

Goodlow, 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 Goodlow surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goodlow in America

Goodlow is the 19823rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goodlow surname appeared 1,356 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 Goodlow.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goodlow 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 19823 19710 0.57%
Count 1,356 1,265 6.94%
Proportion per 100k 0.46 0.47 -2.15%

The history of the last name Goodlow

The surname Goodlow is believed to have originated in England, likely during the late medieval or early modern period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "god" meaning good and "hlaw" meaning hill or mound, suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on or near a "good hill."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Goodlow can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from the year 1327, where a certain Roger Godlowe is mentioned. This suggests that variations of the name were already in use by the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the surname appears in various parish records across England, such as the baptismal record of Joane Goodlowe in St. Botolph's Church, Bishopsgate, London, in 1566. This indicates that the name had spread to different regions of the country by this time.

A notable figure bearing the surname Goodlow was Sir Thomas Goodlowe (1592-1665), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament who served as Recorder of Oxford and a Bencher of the Middle Temple. He played a significant role in the English Civil War and was a supporter of the Parliamentary cause.

Another individual of historical importance was Captain John Goodlow (1640-1703), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Nine Years' War and later became a prominent merchant and landowner in Virginia, USA. He was among the earliest settlers of the Goodlow family in the American colonies.

In the 18th century, the surname Goodlow can be found in various court records and legal documents, such as the case of Goodlow v. Dickens (1765), which involved a dispute over property rights in Kent, England.

The surname Goodlow has also been linked to several place names in England, such as Goodlow Hill in Cheshire and Goodlow Farm in Derbyshire, suggesting that the name may have originated from or been associated with specific locations.

While the surname Goodlow is not among the most common in English-speaking countries, it has maintained a presence throughout history, with several notable individuals bearing this name across different centuries and professions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goodlow

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

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 Goodlow was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 11.95% 162
Non-Hispanic Black Only 79.28% 1,075
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 2.36% 32
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 5.09% 69
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Goodlow has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 11.95% 12.73% -6.32%
Black 79.28% 79.37% -0.11%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 2.36% 2.61% -10.06%
Two or More Races 5.09% 4.11% 21.30%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Goodlow last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/goodlow-surname-popularity/.

"Goodlow last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/goodlow-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Goodlow last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/goodlow-surname-popularity/.

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