2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Graese
A habitational surname indicating someone from Grease, a location in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Graese. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Graese 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Graese in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Graese, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Graese
The surname Graese is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of modern-day Germany and Austria. It is thought to have derived from an old Germanic word meaning "grass" or "green," which may have been used to describe someone who lived near a grassy area or worked with vegetation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Graese can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval document from the 9th century that recorded land transactions and property ownership in the region of Westphalia, Germany. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time and may have roots going back even further.
In the 11th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Graese von Hagen, a nobleman and landowner from the town of Hagen in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He is mentioned in several historical records from that period, including the Annales Quedlinburgenses, a chronicle written by the monks of Quedlinburg Abbey.
During the 13th century, the name Graese appeared in the Landrechte von Schwaben, a legal code that governed the Duchy of Swabia in what is now southwestern Germany. This suggests that individuals with this surname were present in that region at the time.
One of the most prominent figures with the surname Graese was Hans Graese, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1450 to 1516. He is known for his intricate woodcut illustrations, many of which depicted religious scenes and were used in books and manuscripts.
In the 16th century, a notable individual was Johann Graese, a Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1504 to 1574. He was a follower of Martin Luther and played a role in the spread of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
The name Graese has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout history. For example, the village of Graeselbach in the German state of Hesse may have derived its name from individuals bearing the surname Graese who lived in or near that area.
Other variations and spellings of the name, such as Graeser, Gräser, and Graesser, have also been recorded throughout history, reflecting regional linguistic differences and changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Graese
Among Census respondents with the surname Graese, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Graese 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 Graese surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 102
Timeline
Historical Census data for Graese
Graese 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,559 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-9 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,408 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 6,559 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 6,408 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 Graese 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 | #148,347 | #154,755 | -4.3% |
| Count | 111 | 102 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Graese bearers went from 111 to 102 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 6,408 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #154,755.
FAQ
Graese surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Graese?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Graese. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Graese?
Graese ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Graese. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Graese.
Has Graese become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Graese went from 111 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Graese?
Among Census respondents with the surname Graese, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Graese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Graese appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Graese (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 Graese mean?
A habitational surname indicating someone from Grease, a location in Germany. 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 Graese (0.03 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 people are called Graese?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Graese, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.