2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gotkin
A surname derived from the Russian word 'gotovit' meaning 'to prepare' or 'to cook.'
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Gotkin. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gotkin 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Gotkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gotkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gotkin
The surname Gotkin has its origins in medieval Eastern Europe, with records dating back to the 13th century in the region that is now modern-day Poland and Belarus. It is believed to have derived from the old Slavic word "gotov," meaning "ready" or "prepared," which may have been a descriptive nickname for an ancestor who was known for their preparedness or promptness.
One of the earliest known references to the name Gotkin can be found in a historical document from the city of Krakow, Poland, dated 1287, where a merchant named Jakub Gotkin is mentioned in a trade record. This suggests that the name had already established itself in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, the Gotkin family appears to have spread to other parts of Eastern Europe, with records indicating their presence in areas such as Lithuania and Ukraine. During this period, variations of the spelling, such as "Gotkin," "Gotken," and "Gotchin," began to emerge.
A notable figure bearing the Gotkin name was Andrzej Gotkin, a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century. He was born around 1390 and died in battle in 1434.
Another historical figure of note was Ivan Gotkin, a Russian merchant and explorer who traveled to the Far East in the late 16th century. He was born in Moscow in 1550 and is believed to have died around 1620 during one of his expeditions.
In the 17th century, the Gotkin name can be found in records from the city of Vilnius, then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One such record from 1631 mentions a landowner named Mikołaj Gotkin, who owned a sizeable estate in the region.
During the 18th century, the Gotkin name spread further across Eastern Europe, with records indicating families bearing the name in areas such as Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states. One notable figure from this period was Fyodor Gotkin, a Russian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was born in 1778.
In the 19th century, the Gotkin surname began to appear in records from other parts of Europe, as families migrated westward. One such individual was Karl Gotkin, a German philosopher and writer who was born in 1822 in the city of Leipzig and became known for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gotkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Gotkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gotkin 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 Gotkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gotkin
Gotkin 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,166 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-6 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 20,166 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 3,223 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 Gotkin 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 | #151,532 | #154,755 | -2.1% |
| Count | 108 | 102 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gotkin bearers went from 108 to 102 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 3,223 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #154,755.
FAQ
Gotkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gotkin?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Gotkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Gotkin?
Gotkin ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Gotkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gotkin.
Has Gotkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gotkin went from 108 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Gotkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gotkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Gotkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gotkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Gotkin (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 Gotkin mean?
A surname derived from the Russian word 'gotovit' meaning 'to prepare' or 'to cook.' 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 Gotkin (0.03 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 share the surname Gotkin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.