2000
#11,197
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,596
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Goudy
Derived from the Old English personal name "Golda," meaning "gold," or from a place name meaning "good water."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,819 Americans carry the last name Goudy. That puts it at #12,104 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,587 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goudy 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 Goudy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 121,587
Census rank
#12,104
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,458 bearers of the surname Goudy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12104th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goudy, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goudy
The surname Goudy is believed to have originated in Scotland. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word 'gòdach', which means 'greedy' or 'gluttonous'. The name likely referred to someone with a hearty appetite or a tendency to overindulge in food and drink.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in the Scottish Lowlands. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Gowdy, who was mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1264. The name was also found in various Scottish charters and records from the medieval period, with spellings such as Goudy, Gowdy, and Goudye.
In the 16th century, the Goudy family was prominent in the parish of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Records show that a Robert Goudy was a landowner in the area during this time. Another notable bearer of the name was John Goudy, a minister in the Church of Scotland who lived from 1617 to 1681.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Goudy surname spread across Scotland and into other parts of the United Kingdom. One notable figure was William Goudy, a Scottish merchant and plantation owner who lived from 1680 to 1737. He owned several plantations in Jamaica and was involved in the Caribbean sugar trade.
In the 19th century, the Goudy family had members who achieved prominence in various fields. One such individual was Robert Goudy, a Scottish architect who designed several notable buildings in Glasgow. He was born in 1803 and died in 1882. Another notable figure was Alexander Goudy, a Scottish-born American educator who lived from 1819 to 1896. He served as the president of Wabash College in Indiana.
Throughout history, the Goudy surname has been associated with various place names, such as Goudy's Croft in Ayrshire, Scotland, and Goudy's Hill in the West Indies. The name has also been spelled in various ways, including Gowdie, Gouidie, and Gowdey, reflecting the evolving nature of spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goudy
Among Census respondents with the surname Goudy, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Goudy 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 Goudy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.3% · 1,679
- Black or African American20.6% · 506
- Two or more races5.4% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goudy
Goudy 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
#11,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,622
+26 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 736 places
2020
#12,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,458
-164 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 171 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,197 | 2,596 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,933 | 2,622 | 0.89 | +26 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 736 places |
| 2020 | #12,104 | 2,458 | 0.82 | -164 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 171 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 Goudy 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 | #11,933 | #12,104 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,622 | 2,458 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.82 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goudy bearers went from 2,622 to 2,458 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 171 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,933 to #12,104.
FAQ
Goudy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goudy?
Name Census estimates that about 2,819 living Americans carry the surname Goudy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,587 residents.
How common is Goudy?
Goudy ranks #12,104 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 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 2,458 people with the surname Goudy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,819), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 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 Goudy.
Has Goudy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goudy went from 2,622 recorded bearers to 2,458. That is a decrease of 164 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,933 to #12,104.
What does the Census say about the background of Goudy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goudy, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Goudy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (1,679 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goudy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.3%), Black (20.6%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Goudy (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 Goudy mean?
Derived from the Old English personal name "Golda," meaning "gold," or from a place name meaning "good water." 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 Goudy (0.82 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 Goudy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.