2000
#17,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,476
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.55
Rare Last name
Goris
A surname of Dutch or Armenian origin meaning "son of George".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,834 Americans carry the last name Goris. That puts it at #17,303 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 186,889 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goris 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.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 186,889
Census rank
#17,303
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,599 bearers of the surname Goris in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17303rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goris, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 67.9%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goris
The surname Goris is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, possibly in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "goor," which means "muddy" or "marshy," suggesting that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a swampy or marshy area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Goris dates back to 1629, when a man named Johannes Goris was mentioned in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (now known as New York City). This suggests that the name may have been brought to the New World by Dutch settlers during the early colonial period.
In the Netherlands, the name Goris has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such person was Goris van der Goes (1610-1681), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and still-life paintings. Another notable bearer of the name was Goris van Derlinden (1633-1695), a Dutch architect and sculptor who worked on various projects in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
The Goris surname has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in Belgium and Germany, where variations of the name such as Gorissen and Goritz have been recorded. In Belgium, for example, there was a prominent family named Goris who lived in the city of Antwerp during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Outside of Europe, the name Goris has been carried by individuals in various parts of the world, including South Africa and Indonesia. One notable bearer of the name was Andries Goris (1891-1983), a South African rugby union player who represented the national team during the early 20th century.
Over time, the Goris surname has evolved and taken on different spellings, such as Gorris, Goriss, and Goritz. While the name may have originated from a specific geographical location or occupation, it has since been adopted by families across various regions and cultures, making it a truly international surname with a rich and diverse history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goris
Among Census respondents with the surname Goris, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 67.9%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Goris 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 Goris surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino67.9% · 1,085
- White29.8% · 477
- Black or African American1.1% · 17
- Two or more races0.9% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goris
Goris 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
#16,601
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,727
+251 bearers (+17.0%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Up 965 places
2020
#17,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,599
-128 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Down 702 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,566 | 1,476 | 0.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,601 | 1,727 | 0.59 | +251 bearers (+17.0%) | Up 965 places |
| 2020 | #17,303 | 1,599 | 0.53 | -128 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 702 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 Goris 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 | #16,601 | #17,303 | -4.2% |
| Count | 1,727 | 1,599 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.53 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goris bearers went from 1,727 to 1,599 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 702 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,601 to #17,303.
FAQ
Goris surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goris?
Name Census estimates that about 1,834 living Americans carry the surname Goris. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 186,889 residents.
How common is Goris?
Goris ranks #17,303 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,599 people with the surname Goris. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,834), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Goris.
Has Goris become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goris went from 1,727 recorded bearers to 1,599. That is a decrease of 128 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,601 to #17,303.
What does the Census say about the background of Goris?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goris, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 67.9%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (1.1%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Goris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.9% (1,085 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goris appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (67.9%), White (29.8%), Black (1.1%). 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 Goris (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 Goris mean?
A surname of Dutch or Armenian origin meaning "son of George". 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 Goris (0.53 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 Americans have the surname Goris?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.