2000
#2,191
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,229
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.65
Uncommon Last name
Goodson
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Goode," referring to a person who was good, kind, or virtuous.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,145 Americans carry the last name Goodson. That puts it at #2,384 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,992 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goodson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Goodson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,992
Census rank
#2,384
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,951 bearers of the surname Goodson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2384th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodson, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goodson
The surname Goodson is of English origin, derived from the Old English personal name "Gōd" and the word "sun" meaning son. It is a patronymic surname, indicating the bearer was the son of someone named Gōd. The name Gōd was not uncommon in medieval England and was likely bestowed as a hoped-for attribute of the child.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Goodson dates back to the late 12th century in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, where one Robert Godesone is mentioned. The spelling variations were common, with forms like Godson, Goodsun, and Gudesone appearing in various records throughout the following centuries.
In the 13th century, a William Godessone is recorded in the Assize Rolls of Warwickshire in 1221. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a John Godesone in Oxfordshire. These early records suggest the name was present across different regions of England during the Middle Ages.
The Goodson surname has also been linked to certain place names, such as Goodson's Green in Oxfordshire and Goodson's Farm in Gloucestershire. These locations likely derived their names from individuals bearing the Goodson surname who resided or owned land there.
One notable figure with the Goodson surname was John Goodson (c.1592-1664), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Richmond in Yorkshire. He published several religious works, including "The Prodigal Son" in 1622.
Another Goodson of historical significance was Thomas Goodson (1768-1857), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of Rear Admiral and was awarded the Naval Gold Medal for his distinguished service.
In the realm of literature, the name appears in the works of Charles Dickens, who included characters with the surname Goodson in his novels "Bleak House" (1852-1853) and "A Tale of Two Cities" (1859).
The Goodson surname has also been associated with notable figures in different fields, such as William Goodson (1804-1858), a British architect responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in London, and James Goodson (1828-1892), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goodson
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodson, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Goodson bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Goodson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.7% · 10,274
- Black or African American22.0% · 3,296
- Two or more races4.6% · 683
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 485
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 102
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goodson
Goodson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,308
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,820
+591 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 5.36
Rank movement Down 117 places
2020
#2,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,951
-869 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 5.00
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,191 | 15,229 | 5.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,308 | 15,820 | 5.36 | +591 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 117 places |
| 2020 | #2,384 | 14,951 | 5.00 | -869 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 76 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Goodson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,308 | #2,384 | -3.3% |
| Count | 15,820 | 14,951 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.36 | 5.00 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goodson bearers went from 15,820 to 14,951 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,308 to #2,384.
FAQ
Goodson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goodson?
Name Census estimates that about 17,145 living Americans carry the surname Goodson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,992 residents.
How common is Goodson?
Goodson ranks #2,384 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,951 people with the surname Goodson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,145), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Goodson.
Has Goodson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goodson went from 15,820 recorded bearers to 14,951. That is a decrease of 869 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,308 to #2,384.
What does the Census say about the background of Goodson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goodson, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Goodson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.7% (10,274 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goodson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.7%), Black (22.0%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Goodson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Goodson mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Goode," referring to a person who was good, kind, or virtuous. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Goodson (5.00 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Goodson?
If you just want to know how many people are called Goodson, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.