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

Greengrass, 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 Greengrass surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Greengrass in America

Greengrass is the 81772nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Greengrass surname appeared 231 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Greengrass.

We can also compare 2010 data for Greengrass 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 Greengrass

The surname Greengrass is of English origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is a topographic name derived from the Old English words "grene" meaning green and "græs" meaning grass. This suggests that the name was originally given to someone who lived near an area of lush, green grassland.

Greengrass is a variant spelling of the more common surnames Greengrass and Greengroves. The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1170, where a Richard de Grenegres is listed. This indicates that the name was already established in northern England by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the name Greengrass is found in various records across England. For instance, a Roger de Grenegras is mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also list a John de Grenegrave in Oxfordshire.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Greengrass surname was John Grenegraue, who was born in Yorkshire around 1325. He was a prominent landowner and served as a tax collector in the reign of Edward III.

Another notable individual with this surname was William Grenegras, a merchant from London who lived in the late 15th century. He is recorded in the city's Guild Records from 1486.

During the 16th century, the name Greengrass appeared in various forms, such as Grenegreave, Grenegreave, and Greengrave. One example is Thomas Greengrave, a yeoman farmer from Warwickshire, born in 1547.

In the 17th century, the spelling Greengrass became more standardized. A notable bearer of this name was John Greengrass, a Protestant minister born in Essex in 1623. He was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church during the reign of Charles II.

Another prominent figure was Samuel Greengrass, a successful merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire, born in 1675. He amassed a considerable fortune and left a substantial estate to his descendants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Greengrass

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

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

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

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