Gopen last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Gopen

A German place name turned surname possibly derived from "Gopen", a village in Prussia.

Gopen, 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 Gopen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gopen in America

Gopen is the 158432nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gopen surname appeared 102 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 Gopen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gopen 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 158432 139757 12.53%
Count 102 110 -7.55%
Proportion per 100k 0.03 0.04 -28.57%

The history of the last name Gopen

The surname Gopen originates from Germany, specifically the region of Bavaria. It is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "gopa," which means "elevated land" or "hill."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gopen surname can be found in a document from the town of Nuremberg, dated 1523. The record mentions a certain Hans Gopen, who was a merchant and landowner in the area. This suggests that the name was already established in Bavaria by that time.

Another early reference to the Gopen name appears in the records of the city of Munich from the late 16th century. In 1587, a man named Michael Gopen is listed as a member of the local guild of brewers. This indicates that the surname was associated with various trades and occupations in different parts of Bavaria.

During the 17th century, the Gopen family seems to have spread to other regions of Germany. In 1642, a Johannes Gopen was born in the town of Gießen, which is located in the state of Hesse. He later became a respected scholar and theologian, publishing several works on religious topics.

Another notable figure with the Gopen surname was a German artist named Wilhelm Gopen, born in 1809 in the city of Cologne. He was known for his landscape paintings and is considered one of the pioneers of the Düsseldorf school of painting.

In the early 19th century, a branch of the Gopen family emigrated to the United States. One of the first recorded instances of the name in America is that of Johann Gopen, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1822 from the German state of Baden. He later settled in Ohio and became a farmer.

Throughout history, the Gopen surname has also been associated with various place names in Germany. For instance, there is a small village called Gopengrun in the state of Saxony, which may have been named after an early settler with the Gopen name. Additionally, the name Gopenberg appears in several historical records, referring to a hill or elevated area in different regions of Germany.

Overall, the surname Gopen has a rich history that can be traced back to its origins in medieval Bavaria. While not a highly common name, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, artisans, scholars, and artists, over the course of several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gopen

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

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 Gopen was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.14% 95
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 4.90% 5

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.14% 99.09% -6.19%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 0.00% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Hispanic 4.90% (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 Gopen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Gopen last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 17, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/gopen-surname-popularity/.

"Gopen last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/gopen-surname-popularity/. Accessed 17 July, 2025

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

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