2000
#12,193
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,343
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Granville
From an English place name meaning "grand village," derived from Old French "gran(t)" meaning "great" and "ville" meaning "town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,386 Americans carry the last name Granville. That puts it at #13,889 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Granville 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 Granville with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 143,652
Census rank
#13,889
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,081 bearers of the surname Granville in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13889th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Granville, the largest self-reported group is Black at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Granville
The surname Granville is of Norman French origin and dates back to the 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is derived from the Old French phrase "grand ville," which translates to "great town" or "large settlement." The name likely originated in the region of Normandy, France, where many Norman families bore similar toponymic surnames referencing towns and villages.
The earliest recorded instances of the Granville surname appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "Greinvilla" and "Grenevilla," reflecting the Norman-French spelling variations common during that period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Granville surname was Richard de Granville, a Norman knight who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in the 11th century. He was granted lands in the county of Buckinghamshire for his service, and his descendants continued to use the Granville name.
In the 13th century, the Granville family established themselves as prominent landowners in the county of Devon, England. Sir Richard de Granville (born around 1180) was a notable figure who served as Sheriff of Devon and was involved in the Barons' War against King John.
During the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, Sir Thomas Granville (1423-1483) was a staunch supporter of the House of Lancaster. He was knighted for his bravery at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 and later served as Sheriff of Devon.
The Granville surname also has a strong association with the Channel Islands, specifically the island of Jersey. Sir Bevil Granville (1595-1643) was a prominent royalist during the English Civil War and served as the governor of Jersey. His descendants continued to hold significant influence on the island for several generations.
Other notable figures with the Granville surname include George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdown (1667-1735), an English poet and politician; John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville (1690-1763), a British statesman and diplomat; and Granville Sharp (1735-1813), a notable English abolitionist and campaigner against slavery.
The Granville surname has a rich history spanning centuries, with its roots firmly planted in the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent establishment of prominent families bearing the name in various regions of the country, as well as the Channel Islands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Granville
Among Census respondents with the surname Granville, the largest self-reported group is Black at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Granville 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 Granville surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.0% · 937
- White43.7% · 909
- Two or more races5.2% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Granville
Granville 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
#11,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,608
+265 bearers (+11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 216 places
2020
#13,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,081
-527 bearers (-20.2%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 1,912 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,193 | 2,343 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,977 | 2,608 | 0.88 | +265 bearers (+11.3%) | Up 216 places |
| 2020 | #13,889 | 2,081 | 0.70 | -527 bearers (-20.2%) | Down 1,912 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 Granville 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 | #11,977 | #13,889 | -16.0% |
| Count | 2,608 | 2,081 | -20.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.70 | -20.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Granville bearers went from 2,608 to 2,081 (-20.2% change). The surname moved down 1,912 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,977 to #13,889.
FAQ
Granville surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Granville?
Name Census estimates that about 2,386 living Americans carry the surname Granville. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,652 residents.
How common is Granville?
Granville ranks #13,889 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,081 people with the surname Granville. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,386), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Granville.
Has Granville become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Granville went from 2,608 recorded bearers to 2,081. That is a decrease of 527 (-20.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,977 to #13,889.
What does the Census say about the background of Granville?
Among Census respondents with the surname Granville, the largest self-reported group is Black at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Granville in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.0% (937 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Granville appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (45.0%), White (43.7%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Granville (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 Granville mean?
From an English place name meaning "grand village," derived from Old French "gran(t)" meaning "great" and "ville" meaning "town." 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 Granville (0.70 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 share the surname Granville?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.