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

Goodney, 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 Goodney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goodney in America

Goodney is the 106096th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goodney surname appeared 168 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 Goodney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goodney 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 Goodney

The surname Goodney is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from a place called "Goodenough" or a variation of this name. The earliest known record of this surname appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Godeneie."

The name is believed to have originated in the county of Gloucestershire, where there are several villages and hamlets with similar names, such as Goodneston and Goodenough. These place names are thought to derive from the Old English words "gode" meaning "good" and "eneye" meaning "island" or "watery place."

One of the earliest recorded examples of this surname is William de Godeneye, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1203. Another early record is that of John Goodney, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1275.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various spellings, such as Godenay, Godenaye, and Godeneye. A notable example from this period is Robert Godenay, who was a prominent landowner in Oxfordshire and is mentioned in records from the 1360s.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname began to take on its more modern spelling of Goodney. One famous bearer of this name was Sir John Goodney (1564-1628), who was a member of Parliament and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire.

Other notable individuals with the surname Goodney include:

1. Thomas Goodney (1695-1768), an English clergyman and author.
2. Elizabeth Goodney (1798-1879), a pioneer settler in Australia.
3. William Goodney (1823-1901), an English engineer and inventor.
4. James Goodney (1867-1943), an American businessman and philanthropist.
5. Mary Goodney (1904-1988), a British novelist and playwright.

While the surname Goodney is not among the most common in England, it has a long and rich history dating back to the medieval period. Its origins can be traced to specific locations in Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas, where it likely arose as a locational name describing a "good" or pleasant place.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goodney

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

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

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

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