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

Green, 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 Green surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Green in America

Green is the 41st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Green surname appeared 430,182 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 146 people would have the surname Green.

We can also compare 2010 data for Green 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 Green

The surname Green is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "grene," meaning green, referring to a person who lived near a village green or in a verdant area. It emerged as a descriptive surname during the 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Green can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1202, where a Robert Green is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also lists a John le Grene from Oxfordshire.

The surname Green is closely associated with various place names, such as Greenfield, Greenford, and Greenhill, reflecting the geographic connection to green or grassy areas. Some early spellings of the name include Grene, Grene, and Grenne.

Prominent historical figures bearing the surname Green include Sir Henry Green (1583-1636), a renowned English lawyer and judge during the reign of King Charles I. Another notable individual was John Green (1688-1757), an English bishop and author of "The Principles of the Reverend Dr. Snape in a Letter to the Bishop of Bangor."

In literature, the name appears in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," where a character named Green is mentioned in the Prologue to the Cook's Tale, written around 1390.

During the 16th century, a Robert Green (1558-1592) gained recognition as a renowned English poet, playwright, and pamphleteer. His works include "Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay" and "The Scottish History of James IV."

Another notable figure was Bartholomew Green (1667-1732), an English printer and publisher who established the Cambridge University Press in 1698 and played a significant role in the development of printing in England.

The surname Green has a rich history spanning centuries, with its origins rooted in the English countryside and its bearers leaving their mark across various fields, including law, literature, and publishing.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Green

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

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

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

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