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

Grass, 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 Grass surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grass in America

Grass is the 7301st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grass surname appeared 4,567 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Grass.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grass 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 Grass

The surname Grass is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the word "gras" which means "grass" in German. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to someone who lived near a grassy area or meadow.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Grass surname can be found in the records of the town of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to the 14th century. In these records, a person named Hans Grass is listed as a citizen of the town in the year 1387.

Another early reference to the name Grass can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the region of Brandenburg, Germany. In this collection, a person named Nikolaus Grass is mentioned in a legal document from the year 1412.

The Grass surname was also present in other areas of Germany during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. For example, in the town of Lübeck, a merchant named Johann Grass is recorded in the city's records from the year 1527.

One notable person with the surname Grass was Günter Grass, a German novelist, playwright, and artist, who was born in 1927 and died in 2015. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999 for his influential work, including the novels "The Tin Drum" and "Dog Years."

Another famous bearer of the Grass surname was Albert Grass, a German architect who lived from 1810 to 1892. He was known for his work on the construction of the Berlin Cathedral, which was completed in 1905.

In the 16th century, a person named Hans Grass was recorded as a citizen of the town of Strasbourg, France, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time. This suggests that the name had spread beyond the borders of Germany during that period.

The surname Grass can also be found in historical records from other European countries, such as Austria and Switzerland, likely due to migration patterns and the movement of people across borders in the past.

Overall, the surname Grass has a long and rich history, dating back to the Middle Ages in Germany. It has been borne by notable individuals in various fields, including literature, architecture, and commerce, and has spread across different regions of Europe over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grass

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

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 Grass 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 Grass 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 Grass was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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