Skip to content
Name Lineage

    The surname Goodenough

    An English occupational surname, carried by 1,674 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈɡʊd.(ə.)nʌf/ 3 syllables Soundex G352

    Goodenough: #16,975 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer Goodenough #16,975, 1,674 people Goodenough: #16,975 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Goodenough #16,975, 1,674 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Goodenough is more common than 89.5% of them.

    Origin

    English origin

    From Middle English, from gode (“good”) + ynogh (“enough”). Alternatively from gode (“good”) + knave (“boy, servant”).

    Goodenough is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

    One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 1,674 people named Goodenough in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 184,436 Americans. That is up 1.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,656.

    #16,975
    rank among US surnames
    1,674
    people in 2010
    0.6
    per 100,000 Americans
    +1.1%
    change since 2000 (was #16,074)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #16,968Kintz1,675184,326
    #16,975Vanvliet1,674184,436
    #16,984Arita1,673184,546

    Who is named Goodenough

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    94% of people named Goodenough identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.6% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 94%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
    • Two or more races 1.6%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 0.9%
    The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Asian & Pacific Islander, Native American are not shown.

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Goodenoughs

    5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • John B. Goodenough
      American materials scientist (1922–2023)
    • Ward Goodenough
      American anthropologist (1919-2013)
    • Florence Goodenough
      American psychologist (1886–1959)
    • Samuel Goodenough
      British bishop (1743-1827)
    • Ursula Wiltshire Goodenough
      American biologist, born 1943

    Notable Goodenoughs come mostly from the United States (4) and England (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    • Goodnough
    • Goodenow
    • Goodnow
    • Goodno

    Surnames that sound like Goodenough

    Goodenough has the Soundex code G352, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G352.

    Other English surnames

    All 1,446 English surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Goodenough come from?
    From Middle English, from gode (“good”) + ynogh (“enough”). Alternatively from gode (“good”) + knave (“boy, servant”).
    How common is the surname Goodenough?
    1,674 people in the United States had the surname Goodenough in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 184,436 Americans. It ranked 16,975th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Goodenough?
    In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Goodenough identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named Goodenough?
    John B. Goodenough, American materials scientist (1922–2023), followed by Ward Goodenough.
    Where is the surname Goodenough most common?
    Wikidata records people named Goodenough in the United States and England.
    How do you pronounce Goodenough?
    Goodenough is /ˈɡʊd.(ə.)nʌf/, 3 syllables.
    What type of surname is Goodenough?
    Goodenough is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
    Is the surname Goodenough getting more or less common?
    More common. 1,656 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,674 in 2010, up 1.1%.
    What are other spellings of Goodenough?
    Goodnough, Goodenow, Goodnow and Goodno.