# Goddard (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/goddard/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 15,599 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,335 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 19,793 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.9% (15,157 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English surname of Norman origin, name of a 10th-11th-century German saint, from Old High German got (“God”) + harti,herti (“hard, strong”). Brought to England by Normans. Compare Gothard, Godard. * As a French surname, variant of Gaudet.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Goddard in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 8.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Goddard in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy.

## People named Goddard

- Robert H. Goddard, American physicist
- Paulette Goddard, American actress (1910–1990)
- Drew Goddard, American writer and director (born 1975)
- Neville Goddard, Barbadian writer (1905–1972)
- Beverley Goddard, British athlete
- Mark Goddard, American actor (1936–2023)
- Henry H. Goddard, American psychologist (1866–1957)
- Mary Katharine Goddard, American printer and publisher
- Daniel Goddard, actor
- Tracy Goddard, British athlete
- Gary Goddard, American film producer and director
- Romaine Brooks, American artist (1874-1970)

## Similar surnames

Godard, Gothard, Goodhart, Goodridge.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.