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

Grate, 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 Grate surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grate in America

Grate is the 12279th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grate surname appeared 2,532 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Grate.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grate 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 Grate

The surname GRATE originated in England during the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "grēat" which means "great" or "coarse". The name likely referred to a person who was physically large or someone who worked with coarse materials such as a blacksmith.

The earliest recorded example of the GRATE surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1199, where a person named Willelmus Grete is mentioned. This suggests the name was present in the region of Gloucestershire during the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

In the 13th century, the surname GRATE can be found in various records throughout England, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which lists a John le Grete. The prefix "le" in Middle English was used to indicate a descriptive surname.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname GRATE was Robert Grate, a member of the Parliament of England who represented Wiltshire in 1327. Another early record is that of John Grate, a merchant from York who was mentioned in the city's guild rolls in 1378.

During the 15th century, the surname GRATE appears to have been present in various parts of England, including Norfolk and Suffolk. In the Norfolk Musters of 1522, a Thomas Grate is listed among the able-bodied men of the county.

One of the more prominent figures with the GRATE surname was Sir Thomas Grate (1500-1572), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire. He served as the Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1553 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1567.

Another noteworthy individual was John Grate (1620-1689), a Puritan minister and author from Buckinghamshire. He wrote several religious works, including "The Doctrine of Repentance" and "The Sinners' Refuge", which were widely read in his time.

The GRATE surname has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Grate Ashfield in Wiltshire and Grate Staughton in Cambridgeshire. These place names likely had an influence on the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grate

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

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

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

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