The Goodrich surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,487 people carried this name — #1,838 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,100 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (19,399).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Goodrich surname

From Old English Godrīc (“good or godly ruler”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Goodrich» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Godric’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Walter Goderiche, Bedfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Godrich, Goodrich and Goodridge.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 323 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Goodrich was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Suffolk: 9 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 1,111. 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

Suffolk 9
South Wales 9

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

244 families named Goodrich, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,440 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 9 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

Connecticut 89
Massachusetts 69
Vermont 23
New York 23
Virginia 21
Maine 8
Maryland 5
New Hampshire 3
North Carolina 2
Pennsylvania 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

Goodrich in American newspapers,
1916.

Newspaper page from The Brookings Register carrying the name Goodrich
The Brookings Register 1916-05-25
Newspaper page from Evening Capital And Maryland Gazette carrying the name Goodrich
Evening Capital And Maryland Gazette 1916-05-20
Newspaper page from The Madison Daily Leader carrying the name Goodrich
The Madison Daily Leader 1916-05-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Goodrich in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

5,461 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Goodrich. The most, 967, date from the 1890s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,757
New South Wales 1,182
Western Australia 883
Victoria 760
South Australia 545
Tasmania 318
ACT (Canberra) 9

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

Who carried it

People named Goodrich,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Goodrich
    Thomas Goodrich 1494–1554 · judge
  • Daniel F. Goodrich d. 1889 · politician
  • Richard Goodrich d. 1562 · politician
  • William Goodrich, II 1661–1737
  • David Goodrich 1667–1755
  • David Goodrich II 1694–1785

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 Goodrich,
in the records of 6 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 States1,840 records

1,840 records of the Goodrich name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 712
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 351
  • Other U.S. records 777
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John F. Goodrich

    Born 1919 in Indiana. Enlisted 1943 at Cincinnati, Ohio; stock clerk from Highland County, Ohio. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Hillsboro Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edwin Riley Goodrich

    Born 1935; from Olean, New York. U.S. Air Force; killed in action 1967 in North Vietnam. Buried at Marietta National Cemetery, Georgia.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Thomas Goodrich

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the James Foster Jr. from Liverpool, aged 32; saddler. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 1,840 records for Goodrich in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia110 records

110 records of the Goodrich name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 64
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 22
  • Other Australian records 24
  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 Goodrich

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Hooghley, arriving 1834; certificate of freedom 1846.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Susan Goodrich

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Alipore, aged 34; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph Goodrich

    Retired of Fitzroy, Victoria; died 1972.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 110 records for Goodrich in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada34 records

34 records of the Goodrich name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 19
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Cora Leona Goodrich

    Died 1970, aged 75; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Elizabeth Goodrich

    Died 1868 in Halifax, 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 Gust Goodrich

    Died in service in 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 34 records for Goodrich in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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 Zealand4 records

4 records of the Goodrich 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 Alice Ada Goodrich

    Died 1912, aged 39; buried at Linwood 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 Ethel Eliza Goodrich

    Died 1929, aged 48; buried at Sydenham 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 Caroline P. Goodrich

    Died 1897, aged 73; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Goodrich 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 Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Goodrich 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 E. Goodrich

    Wiltshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Goodrich

    Middlesex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. I. Goodrich

    Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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).

France1 record

1 record of the Goodrich name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Benjamin Goodrich

    Born 1949 in the United States; died 1991 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Goodrich.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Goodrich 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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