2000
#13,875
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,997
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Gracey
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic word "Ó Grásaigh," meaning "descendant of Grásach," a personal name meaning "graceful."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,307 Americans carry the last name Gracey. That puts it at #14,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,571 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gracey 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gracey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 148,571
Census rank
#14,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,012 bearers of the surname Gracey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gracey, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gracey
The surname Gracey is of Anglo-Norman origin, derived from the Medieval French personal name "Grace." It is believed to have been introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name is thought to have originated from the Latin word "gratia," meaning favor, grace, or thanks.
The earliest known record of the surname Gracey can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where it is spelled "Graci." This indicates that the name was present in England as early as the late 12th century.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, the name appears as "Grace" and "Gracy," suggesting that the surname had already begun to develop different spellings by the late 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Gracey was Sir John Gracey, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
The surname Gracey is also associated with several place names in England, such as Gracedieu in Leicestershire, which was named after a Cistercian nunnery founded in the 12th century.
Another notable figure with the surname Gracey was Sir Robert Gracey, a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. He was born in 1778 and died in 1835.
In the 16th century, the surname Gracey appeared in various records, including the Parish Registers of St. Peter's Church in Nottinghamshire, where a family bearing the name Gracey was recorded in 1586.
During the 17th century, the Gracey family established themselves in County Armagh, Ireland. One of the earliest recorded Graceys in Ireland was William Gracey, who was born in 1662 in Portadown, County Armagh.
Another notable individual with the surname Gracey was Sir John Gracey, a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was born in 1810 and died in 1892.
In the 19th century, the surname Gracey continued to spread throughout the English-speaking world, with families bearing the name settling in various parts of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gracey
Among Census respondents with the surname Gracey, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gracey 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 Gracey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 1,657
- Black or African American7.9% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 91
- Two or more races3.9% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gracey
Gracey 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
#14,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,072
+75 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 546 places
2020
#14,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,012
-60 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 114 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,875 | 1,997 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,421 | 2,072 | 0.70 | +75 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 546 places |
| 2020 | #14,307 | 2,012 | 0.67 | -60 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 114 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 Gracey 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 | #14,421 | #14,307 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,072 | 2,012 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.67 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gracey bearers went from 2,072 to 2,012 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 114 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,421 to #14,307.
FAQ
Gracey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gracey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,307 living Americans carry the surname Gracey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,571 residents.
How common is Gracey?
Gracey ranks #14,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,012 people with the surname Gracey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,307), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Gracey.
Has Gracey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gracey went from 2,072 recorded bearers to 2,012. That is a decrease of 60 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,421 to #14,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Gracey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gracey, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Gracey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (1,657 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gracey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Black (7.9%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Gracey (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 Gracey mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic word "Ó Grásaigh," meaning "descendant of Grásach," a personal name meaning "graceful." 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 Gracey (0.67 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 common is the surname Gracey?
See how many people have the last name Gracey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.