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

Goodwyn, 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 Goodwyn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goodwyn in America

Goodwyn is the 18043rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goodwyn surname appeared 1,546 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 Goodwyn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goodwyn 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 Goodwyn

The surname Goodwyn has its origins in the English counties of Devon and Somerset, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "gode" meaning good and "wine" meaning friend, thus translating to "good friend" or "good companion". The earliest known spelling variations include Godwine, Godwyne, and Godewyn.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire from 1198, where a Richard Godwine is mentioned. Another early record is the Feet of Fines for Somerset in 1243, which lists a Walter Godwyne.

The Goodwyn name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls for Devon in 1327, indicating the family's presence in the region during the medieval period. In the 15th century, the name was associated with the village of Goodwyn's Close in Somerset, suggesting a possible connection to a place name.

Notable individuals bearing the Goodwyn surname throughout history include Sir Francis Goodwyn (1584-1634), an English politician who served as Member of Parliament for Bath. John Goodwyn (1594-1664) was a prominent Puritan clergyman and one of the authors of the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Another notable figure was Thomas Goodwyn (1634-1700), an English clergyman and author who wrote several theological works. In the 18th century, Caleb Goodwyn (1717-1789) was a renowned English surveyor and cartographer, known for his detailed maps of the South West of England.

During the 19th century, Sir Edmund Goodwyn (1810-1885) was a British naval officer and hydrographer who made significant contributions to the mapping of the coastlines of Australia and New Zealand.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goodwyn

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

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

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

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