2000
#1,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,721
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.20
Uncommon Last name
Granger
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked on a granary or grain farm.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,132 Americans carry the last name Granger. That puts it at #2,110 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,915 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Granger 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 Granger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,915
Census rank
#2,110
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,684 bearers of the surname Granger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2110th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Granger, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Granger
The surname Granger has its origins in medieval France, deriving from the Old French word 'grainger', which meant a keeper of granaries or farms. The name likely emerged during the 12th or 13th century in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Granger appears in the Cartulary of Bayeux in 1180, where a certain Radulfus Granger is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the late 12th century.
Over time, the name spread across other parts of France and eventually made its way to England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the Granger surname, but it does mention several places with names derived from the Old French word 'grainger', indicating the presence of granaries or farms in those areas.
One notable early bearer of the Granger name was Sir Thomas Granger (c. 1320-1380), a prominent English knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles for his valor and military exploits.
Another influential figure was Gaspard Granger (1615-1694), a French Benedictine monk and scholar who compiled one of the earliest comprehensive bibliographies of religious literature, titled "Bibliotheca Regularis."
In the 18th century, James Granger (1723-1776) was an English writer and biographer best known for his influential work "A Biographical History of England", which contained engraved portraits and biographies of notable figures throughout English history.
During the 19th century, the surname Granger was borne by several prominent individuals, including Gordon Granger (1825-1876), a Union Army general during the American Civil War, and Gideon Granger (1767-1822), an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Postmaster General under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
The Granger surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria, England, and Grangemouth in Scotland, both of which derive from the Old French word 'grainger' and reflect the agricultural roots of the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Granger
Among Census respondents with the surname Granger, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Granger 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 Granger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.0% · 12,506
- Black or African American16.2% · 2,700
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 660
- Two or more races3.6% · 604
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 102
Timeline
Historical Census data for Granger
Granger 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
#2,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,539
+818 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.95
Rank movement Down 69 places
2020
#2,110
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,684
-855 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.58
Rank movement Down 55 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,986 | 16,721 | 6.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,055 | 17,539 | 5.95 | +818 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 69 places |
| 2020 | #2,110 | 16,684 | 5.58 | -855 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 55 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 Granger 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 | #2,055 | #2,110 | -2.7% |
| Count | 17,539 | 16,684 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.95 | 5.58 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Granger bearers went from 17,539 to 16,684 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 55 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,055 to #2,110.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Granger
FAQ
Granger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Granger?
Name Census estimates that about 19,132 living Americans carry the surname Granger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,915 residents.
How common is Granger?
Granger ranks #2,110 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,684 people with the surname Granger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Granger.
Has Granger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Granger went from 17,539 recorded bearers to 16,684. That is a decrease of 855 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,055 to #2,110.
What does the Census say about the background of Granger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Granger, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Granger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (12,506 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Granger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.0%), Black (16.2%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Granger (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 Granger mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked on a granary or grain farm. 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 Granger (5.58 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 Granger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.