2000
#13,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,068
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Goulart
A French occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of a type of wooden shoe called a sabot.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,315 Americans carry the last name Goulart. That puts it at #14,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,058 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Goulart 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
2.3K
1 in 148,058
Census rank
#14,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,019 bearers of the surname Goulart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Goulart, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Goulart
The surname Goulart is believed to have originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is derived from the Portuguese word "goul," which means "throat" or "gullet," and may have been an occupational surname referring to someone who worked with the throat or gullet, such as a butcher or a surgeon.
The earliest known record of the name Goulart can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens, a medieval Portuguese manuscript dating back to the 13th century. The manuscript mentions a nobleman named Goulart de Sousa, who was a member of the Portuguese nobility during the reign of King Afonso III.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Livro de Linhagens do Conde D. Pedro, a genealogical work compiled in the 14th century. This book mentions a knight named Goulart Rodrigues, who fought in the Reconquista, the medieval struggle between Christian and Moorish forces for control of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the 15th century, the name Goulart appeared in the Cancioneiro Geral, a collection of medieval Portuguese poetry compiled by Garcia de Resende. One of the poets featured in this work was João Goulart, who lived during the reign of King João II.
During the Age of Discovery, the name Goulart was carried to various parts of the Portuguese empire. One notable figure was Diogo Goulart de Figueiredo (1515-1592), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage around the world.
In the 17th century, another notable bearer of the name was Simão Goulart (1543-1628), a Protestant theologian and writer who was born in France but had Portuguese ancestry. Goulart was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored numerous religious works.
Throughout history, the name Goulart has been spelled in various ways, including Goullart, Goularte, and Goularte. The name has also been associated with various place names in Portugal, such as Goulart (a parish in the municipality of Terras de Bouro) and Goularte (a parish in the municipality of Braga).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Goulart
Among Census respondents with the surname Goulart, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Goulart 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 Goulart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 1,789
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 140
- Two or more races2.4% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 29
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Goulart
Goulart 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
#14,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,106
+38 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 750 places
2020
#14,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,019
-87 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 35 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,488 | 2,068 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,238 | 2,106 | 0.71 | +38 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 750 places |
| 2020 | #14,273 | 2,019 | 0.68 | -87 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 35 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 Goulart 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 | #14,238 | #14,273 | -0.2% |
| Count | 2,106 | 2,019 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.68 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Goulart bearers went from 2,106 to 2,019 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 35 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,238 to #14,273.
FAQ
Goulart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Goulart?
Name Census estimates that about 2,315 living Americans carry the surname Goulart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,058 residents.
How common is Goulart?
Goulart ranks #14,273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,019 people with the surname Goulart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,315), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Goulart.
Has Goulart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Goulart went from 2,106 recorded bearers to 2,019. That is a decrease of 87 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,238 to #14,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Goulart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Goulart, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Goulart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (1,789 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Goulart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Hispanic (6.9%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Goulart (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 Goulart mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of a type of wooden shoe called a sabot. 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 Goulart (0.68 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 Goulart?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.