Goodenough Surname

99,900th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 4,733 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
England

Goodenough Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. Probably from Godin (v. Godinot), the name of the first settler, and hough, haugh, or how, a hill, a mound. Oddly enough, we have the opposite seeming characteristic in Badenough, which is proved to be local by the entry 'Seignor de Badenough' (19 Edward I): Furness Coucher, Cheth.

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Goodenough Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,2781:159,11316,211
England1,7251:32,3004,307
Canada1511:244,01123,241
Australia1501:179,97118,195
South Africa1201:451,48138,064
New Zealand681:66,59310,133
Wales641:48,3524,540
Scotland541:99,1456,812
Singapore301:183,5907,666
France221:3,019,215204,848
Malaysia161:1,843,38974,511
Northern Ireland141:131,7887,342
Netherlands61:2,814,529101,176
Czechia51:2,126,694115,412
Malta41:107,5681,849
Jersey31:33,0674,675
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Israel21:4,278,817136,311
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Brunei11:418,7313,893
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland61:738,31121,113
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England8321:29,2973,957
Wales151:104,5614,503
Jersey41:12,9712,116
Scotland41:935,80421,348
Guernsey31:10,8851,562
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States8751:57,3936,389

Goodenough (2,227) may also be a first name.

Goodenough Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. Probably from Godin (v. Godinot), the name of the first settler, and hough, haugh, or how, a hill, a mound. Oddly enough, we have the opposite seeming characteristic in Badenough, which is proved to be local by the entry 'Seignor de Badenough' (19 Edward I): Furness Coucher, Cheth. Soc. This entry occurs several times.

Geoffrey Godynogh, Kent, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Radulphus Godenogh, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes Godynogh, 1379: ibid.

Robertus Gudynegh, 1379: ibid.

1667. Richard Goodenough and Sarah Harrison: Marriage Alleg. (Canterbury).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) prob. a nickname; but if local it will represent an Anglo-Saxon *Godanhóh, ‘Goda’s Hough or Hill.’ Geoffrey Godynogh.—Hundred Rolls

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Good Boy” in Old English (God- Cnafa). Compare “Knaap” for boy in Afrikaans.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English) Said to be a nickname for one who was sufficient or satisfactory in some sense.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The original bearer was perhaps a sufficiently worthy fellow, but I think his name had no reference to his moral qualities. Knowe is a Scotticism, equivalent to the southern knoll, a little round hill, and the prefix ' good ' probably indicated the nature of the soil of the hill at or upon which he resided.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

The same as Godenot or Godeno' (which see).

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From some local name, perhaps originally Woodknowe, compounded of knowe, a Scotticism equivalent to knoll, the top or crown of a hill; but more generally a little round hill or mount, a small elevation of earth; from Anglo-Saxon cnoll, knöl, W. cnol. compare the name Oldknow.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

From the French, Godineau; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Goodenough Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Goodenough Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Goodenough is more commonly found in The United States than any other country/territory. It may also appear as a variant:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Goodenough? popularity and diffusion

The last name Goodenough is the 99,900th most widespread surname globally, held by around 1 in 1,539,731 people. It occurs mostly in The Americas, where 51 percent of Goodenough live; 51 percent live in North America and 51 percent live in Anglo-North America. Goodenough is also the 158,395th most commonly held forename worldwide, borne by 2,227 people.

The surname is most widely held in The United States, where it is held by 2,278 people, or 1 in 159,113. In The United States it is most frequent in: California, where 15 percent reside, New York, where 9 percent reside and Texas, where 8 percent reside. Apart from The United States it is found in 32 countries. It also occurs in England, where 36 percent reside and Canada, where 3 percent reside.

Goodenough Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Goodenough has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Goodenough last name grew 260 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it grew 207 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it grew 427 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it grew 1,350 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 83 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Goodenough Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the Goodenough surname is principally Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Goodenough surname are 10.54% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 57.31% being registered with the party.

The amount Goodenough earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 74% more than the national average, earning R 413,496 per year; in United States they earn 7.05% more than the national average, earning $46,193 USD per year and in Canada they earn 9.03% more than the national average, earning $54,171 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Goodenogh951/
Godenough951/
Goodenugh951/
Goodenhough951/
Goodenoug950/
Goddenough901/
Goudenough901/
Goodinough900/
Goodenaugh900/
Godinough841/
Goodenogt840/
Goodenagh840/
Godinoux6711/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Goodenough
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis