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

Goodridge, 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 Goodridge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goodridge in America

Goodridge is the 12904th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goodridge surname appeared 2,382 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 Goodridge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goodridge 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 Goodridge

The surname GOODRIDGE is an English toponymic name derived from the place name Goodridge or Goderidge in Hertfordshire, England. It is believed to have originated in the early 11th century, with the first recorded spelling being Godric, taken from the Old English personal name Godric, meaning "good ruler" or "god ruler".

The name Goodridge is thought to have evolved from the place name Goderichesgate, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a hamlet in Hertfordshire. The village was likely named after a Saxon landholder named Godric who resided there during the 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Goodridge can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire from 1195, where a Robert de Goderich is mentioned. In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, a John de Goderugg is listed as residing in Oxfordshire.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, variations of the surname such as Godrige, Goderyge, and Goderyche were commonly found in medieval records across various counties in England, including Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Goodridge throughout history include:

1. Sir Henry Goodridge (1571-1627), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire in the early 17th century.
2. Thomas Goodridge (1621-1688), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Clapham in Surrey.
3. John Goodridge (1786-1854), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a renowned explorer and surveyor in the Arctic regions.
4. Elizabeth Goodridge (1798-1882), an American educator and activist who founded the Goodridge Academy, one of the earliest schools for African American children in New England.
5. William Goodridge (1804-1876), an American businessman and civil rights activist who was influential in the Underground Railroad and helped establish several churches and schools in Pennsylvania.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goodridge

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

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

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

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