Gross
A masculine German name derived from the word "groß" meaning "large" or "great".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Gross. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gross today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gross births was 1925 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gross. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gross. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1925
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1925 SSA rank
#3,916
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Gross: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Gross by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gross during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Gross
The name Gross originated from the German language and has its roots in the Old High German word "groz," which means "large" or "great." This name was particularly popular in Germanic regions during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gross can be found in the "Nibelungenlied," a renowned German epic poem dating back to the 13th century. In this work, Gross is mentioned as the name of a knight who fought alongside the legendary hero Siegfried.
During the Renaissance period, the name Gross gained prominence in various parts of Europe. One notable figure was Gross von Trockau, a German scholar and theologian who lived from 1488 to 1553. He was known for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek texts and his advocacy for educational reform.
In the realm of art, the name Gross is associated with the German painter Matthias Gross (1637-1718), who was renowned for his baroque-style religious paintings and altarpieces. His works can be found in churches and galleries across Germany and neighboring countries.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Gross became a more widespread name, particularly in the United States. One prominent individual bearing this name was Samuel David Gross (1805-1884), an American surgeon and author who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. He is considered one of the founders of modern surgery and authored several influential medical textbooks.
Another notable figure was Robert Gross (1905-1988), an American historian and academic who specialized in the study of Puritanism and colonial New England. He authored several acclaimed works, including "The Minutemen and Their World" and "The Seventeenth-Century Milieu."
It is worth mentioning that while the name Gross has Germanic origins, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and languages over time, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.
People
Gross + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gross as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gross: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gross?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gross going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Gross a common name?
We classify Gross as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gross most popular?
The single biggest year for Gross was 1925, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gross is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gross in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gross a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gross in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gross still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gross in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gross can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Gross?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.