The Goodwin surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 72,451 people carried this name — #454 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,070 people counted. That is up 3% from 70,333 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Goodwin surname

A surname transferred from the given name derived from the given name.

From Old English gōd (“good”) + wine (“friend”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Goodwin» (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 Godwin’.

An early record he cites: Lucas fil. Godwin, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls. Fil. is Latin for “son of”.

His entry covers Goodwin, Godwin and Goodwyn.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 329 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 26 births for the Goodwin name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 13
Leinster 10
Munster 2
Connacht 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

45 people named Goodwin live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 13
Geneva 12
Zurich 8
Bern 5
Basel-Stadt 4
Basel-Landschaft 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 35 people named Goodwin.

Most of them — 22 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 22
Pas-de-Calais 5
Nord 4
Paris 2
Indre 1
Seine-Saint-Denis 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

107 people named Goodwin are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 83
Finland (2026) 24

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Goodwin was found among the farmers of 13 counties.

It was most frequent in Staffordshire: 54 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 185. 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

Staffordshire 54
Derbyshire 40
Kent 33
Cheshire 30
Surrey 20
Suffolk 18
Herefordshire 17
Hertfordshire 17

And 5 more counties.

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 Scotland’s registers today

Goodwin was recorded 45 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 579th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 62. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

427 families named Goodwin, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 2,425 people lived in those households, 5.7 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

Maine 80
Virginia 66
Massachusetts 57
North Carolina 54
Connecticut 46
South Carolina 35
New Hampshire 34
Pennsylvania 16
Maryland 16
Vermont 11
New York 11
Rhode Island 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

Goodwin in American newspapers,
1909–1913.

Newspaper page from Omaha Daily Bee carrying the name Goodwin
Omaha Daily Bee 1913-02-09
Newspaper page from San Antonio Light And Gazette carrying the name Goodwin
San Antonio Light And Gazette 1911-01-08
Newspaper page from The San Antonio Light carrying the name Goodwin
The San Antonio Light 1909-01-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 550,491 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Goodwin in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

80,115 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Goodwin. The most, 13,746, date from the 1930s. New South Wales 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 Tasmania, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 31,913
Queensland 17,216
Victoria 13,042
Tasmania 7,980
South Australia 5,992
Western Australia 2,979
ACT (Canberra) 802
Northern Territory 21

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

Who carried it

People named Goodwin,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lillian Goodwin d. 1970 · businessperson
  • Ralph Goodwin d. 1562 · politician
  • Ralph Goodwin d. 1658 · politician
  • Robert Goodwin d. 1681 · politician
  • Edward Goodwin d. 1501 · politician
  • Emmett Goodwin d. 1909 · police officer

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Goodwin,
in the records of 8 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 States7,192 records

7,192 records of the Goodwin name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,482
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,769
  • Other U.S. records 2,941
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Herbert J. Goodwin

    Born 1900 in Washington. Enlisted 1942 at Spokane; painter from San Francisco County, California. U.S. Army veteran; died 1956, buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the City of Chester from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 25; servant. From Limerick, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Forrest Goodwin

    Born 1941; from Tylertown, Mississippi. U.S. Marine Corps, infantry officer; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 7,192 records for Goodwin 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia2,909 records

2,909 records of the Goodwin name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,180
  • Tasmanian Names Index 678
  • Other Australian records 1,051
  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 Ann Goodwin

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lloyds, sailing from London in 1845. Native of Liverpool, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Jane Goodwin

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Edward, sailing from Woolwich in 1834. Native of Manchester, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harold Gladstone Goodwin

    Died 1918 in Abroad On Active Service, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1919.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,909 records for Goodwin in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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).

Canada2,251 records

2,251 records of the Goodwin name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2,048
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 62
  • Other Canadian records 141
  1. 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 John Goodwin

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Dresden, Ontario.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sam'l Goodwin

    Came to Ontario in 1869 aboard the N American, landing at Quebec, bound for Guelph, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Fredia Roseland Goodwin

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 65.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 2,251 records for Goodwin 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. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom164 records

164 records of the Goodwin name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 91
  • Stirling Council burial records 40
  • Other British records 33
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Goodwin

    Buried in 1908 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 76.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Goodwin

    Buried in 1803 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 36.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Daniel Goodwin

    Will proved in 1936; of Wrexham, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 164 records for Goodwin in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand81 records

81 records of the Goodwin name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 55
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 9
  • Other New Zealand records 17
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Elliott Goodwin

    Died 1928, aged 58; 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 George Lionel Goodwin

    Died 1954, aged 56; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Leslie Goodwin

    Died 1999, aged 96; buried at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 81 records for Goodwin in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands10 records

10 records of the Goodwin name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 6
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Winifred Gladys Goodwin

    Died 1968 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 70.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jacobus Goodwin

    Married in 1640 in Rotterdam; born in Engelant.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 10 records for Goodwin 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).

France9 records

9 records of the Goodwin 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 Maurice Goodwin

    Born 1922 in Lestrem (Pas-de-Calais); died 1996 in Steenvoorde (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jeremy David Goodwin

    Born 1959 in Suresnes (Paris); died 1978 in Massy (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 9 records for Goodwin in France.

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).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Goodwin name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ethel Goodwin

    Died 1926 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Goodwin.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Goodwin 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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