The Gooden surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,335 people carried this name — #3,190 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,000 people counted. That is up 10% from 10,338 in 2000.

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Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Gooden was found among the farmers of Somerset: 8 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Somerset 8

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

50 families named Gooden, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 269 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 12
North Carolina 10
Massachusetts 9
Maryland 7
Virginia 4
New Hampshire 3
Maine 2
Connecticut 1
New York 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 242 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Gooden in American newspapers,
1879–1913.

Newspaper page from The Nashville Globe carrying the name Gooden
The Nashville Globe 1913-06-20
Newspaper page from The Tacoma Times carrying the name Gooden
The Tacoma Times 1913-01-20
Newspaper page from Grant County Herald carrying the name Gooden
Grant County Herald 1879-01-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,978 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gooden in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

7,137 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gooden. The most, 1,207, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 4.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 3,697
Victoria 1,562
New South Wales 1,533
Queensland 207
Western Australia 92
Tasmania 29
ACT (Canberra) 8
Northern Territory 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gooden.

Who carried it

People named Gooden,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Monroe Gooden
    Monroe Gooden 1848–1915 · military personnel
  • Sam Gooden
    Sam Gooden 1934–2022 · singer
  • James Gooden 1670–1730 · writer
  • Mary Chisholm 1780–
  • Alexander Chisholm Gooden 1817–1841 · student
  • Robert Burton Gooden 1874–1976 · suffragan bishop

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Gooden,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States515 records

515 records of the Gooden name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 262
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 147
  • Other U.S. records 106
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Michael Anthony Gooden

    Born 1946; from Bellflower, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1966 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Leon N. Gooden

    Born 1921 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg; sales clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Mount Horeb Church Cemetery, Council, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Lucia Gooden

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Pennland from Antwerp, aged 16; farmer. From Salem, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 515 records for Gooden in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia70 records

70 records of the Gooden name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 37
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 13
  • Other Australian records 20
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Gooden

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Shipley, arriving 1822; ticket of leave 1833. Native of Lancs.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James F. Gooden

    Retired of Hawthorn, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Percy Gooden

    Arrived in Queensland in 1913 aboard the Orsova.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 70 records for Gooden in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands68 records

68 records of the Gooden name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 50
  • Dutch population registers 17
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Johannes Theodorus Emile Gooden

    Born 1911 in Meijel. Died 1911 in Meijel.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Godefrida Gooden

    Born 1879 in Meijel. Married in 1919 in Meijel. Died 1944 in Deurne.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Maria Helena Sibilla Gooden

    In the population register of Kessel; maidservant, born 1839 in Nunhem.

    Open Archives, gemeente Peel en Maas (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 68 records for Gooden in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada18 records

18 records of the Gooden name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 15
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Earl Harold Gooden

    Buried in 1988 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 83.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Bedford W. Gooden

    Died 1871 in Maccan, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Edward Alexander Gooden

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 18 records for Gooden in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand5 records

5 records of the Gooden name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Gooden

    Died 1954, aged 70; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry James Gooden

    Died 1941, aged 76; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry James Gooden

    Died 1959, aged 49; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Gooden in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Gooden name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. J. Gooden

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Gooden name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Fritz Gooden

    From Barmstedt. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 5 November 1914; then reported dead in the list of 10 September 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 31).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gooden.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gooden is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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