Goodin
A surname that likely began as a regional or pet-form spelling related to Goodman or Gooding, though its exact origin is not firmly settled.
The #4,917 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,163 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Goodin is best treated as an English surname of uncertain derivation. It may be a reduced or variant form related to names built on the element good, such as Goodman or Gooding, or it may reflect a local pronunciation that later became fixed in spelling. The historical record is not clear enough to support a single certain literal meaning.
History
The excerpts provided only mention Goodin incidentally in a London marriage record, so they do not explain its origin directly. The surname appears in English-language records and is also found in the United States, where it likely spread through ordinary family migration and spelling variation. Because the surviving evidence is thin, its early history is best described as uncertain rather than definitively traced.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Goodin is uncommon enough that a small number of spellings can easily overlap in old records, which makes it a tricky surname to trace precisely.
From the historical record
“177c. MarrleJ- William Bambaiy and . Ann Goodin : St. Geo. Man, Sq. 1. !$'• London,!, 1; NcwYcnk, i, i. Bamfield, Bampfiald, Ban- fiald, BanfllL— Local, 'of Bam-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances