2000
#11,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,575
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Colegrove
An English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a cool or cold grove of trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,930 Americans carry the last name Colegrove. That puts it at #11,733 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,981 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Colegrove surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 116,981
Census rank
#11,733
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,555 bearers of the surname Colegrove in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11733rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Colegrove, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Colegrove
The surname Colegrove has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from a place called Colgrove, which is thought to have been located in Gloucestershire or Worcestershire. The name is composed of two Old English elements: "col," meaning charcoal or coal, and "grove," referring to a small wood or thicket.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Colegrove can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a Robert de Colegroue is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the 14th century.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in the form of "Colegroue" in the Feet of Fines for Staffordshire in 1485, further solidifying its presence in the Midlands region of England.
During the Tudor period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Collegrove," as evidenced by a record from 1541 mentioning a John Collegrove in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire.
Notable individuals who bore the surname Colegrove include Sir William Colegrove (1567-1637), a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Stafford in the early 17th century. Another notable figure was Robert Colegrove (1628-1692), a Puritan minister who emigrated to New England and served as the pastor of the First Parish Church in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
In the 18th century, the name Colegrove appeared in various records, such as the marriage of John Colegrove and Mary Smith in 1732, recorded in the parish registers of St. Giles, Worcestershire.
Another noteworthy individual was Captain James Colegrove (1743-1818), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and later became a maritime merchant in Liverpool.
As the centuries progressed, the name Colegrove continued to be documented in various regions of England, with some families maintaining the traditional spelling while others adopted variations like "Colgrove" or "Calgrave."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colegrove
Among Census respondents with the surname Colegrove, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Colegrove bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Colegrove surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 2,284
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.3% · 110
- Two or more races3.8% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 42
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Colegrove
Colegrove appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,629
+54 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 637 places
2020
#11,733
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,555
-74 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 174 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,270 | 2,575 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,907 | 2,629 | 0.89 | +54 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 637 places |
| 2020 | #11,733 | 2,555 | 0.85 | -74 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 174 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Colegrove surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,907 | #11,733 | 1.5% |
| Count | 2,629 | 2,555 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.85 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Colegrove bearers went from 2,629 to 2,555 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 174 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,907 to #11,733.
FAQ
Colegrove surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Colegrove?
Name Census estimates that about 2,930 living Americans carry the surname Colegrove. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,981 residents.
How common is Colegrove?
Colegrove ranks #11,733 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,555 people with the surname Colegrove. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,930), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Colegrove.
Has Colegrove become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Colegrove went from 2,629 recorded bearers to 2,555. That is a decrease of 74 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,907 to #11,733.
What does the Census say about the background of Colegrove?
Among Census respondents with the surname Colegrove, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Colegrove in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (2,284 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Colegrove appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Colegrove (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Colegrove mean?
An English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a cool or cold grove of trees. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Colegrove (0.85 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Colegrove?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.