Find out how popular the last name Graft is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Graft.

Graft, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Graft surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Graft in America

Graft is the 30863rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Graft surname appeared 754 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Graft.

We can also compare 2010 data for Graft to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Graft

The surname "GRAFT" originated in England during the late medieval period, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English word "graefe," which refers to a small plantation or grove of trees. This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near or worked on such a plantation.

In its earliest form, the name was often spelled as "Grefe" or "Greffe." It is found in various historical records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which mention a "Reginald Grefe" in Cambridgeshire. The Subsidy Rolls of 1327 also record a "John Grefe" in Suffolk.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Thomas Graft (1315-1382), a knight from Oxfordshire who fought in the Hundred Years' War under Edward III. Another notable figure was John Graft (c. 1480-1556), a wealthy merchant and alderman in the City of London during the reign of Henry VIII.

In the 16th century, the name took on the more modern spelling of "Graft." An example from this period is William Graft (1535-1607), a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Warwickshire during the reign of Elizabeth I.

The Domesday Book, the great survey of England conducted in 1086, does not appear to contain any direct references to the name "Graft" or its earlier variations. However, it does mention several place names that may have influenced the surname's development, such as "Graftham" in Lincolnshire and "Graftone" in Warwickshire.

Other notable bearers of the surname Graft include Sir Francis Graft (1620-1689), a wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London during the late 17th century, and John Graft (1720-1795), a renowned botanist and horticulturist who established one of the first commercial nurseries in England.

While the surname Graft is not among the most common in England, it has endured as a distinctive name with a rich history spanning several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Graft

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Graft.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Graft was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Graft has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Graft was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Graft, please contact us.

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