2000
#15,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,760
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Greenough
A locational surname referring to someone from a green, hilly place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,878 Americans carry the last name Greenough. That puts it at #16,964 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 182,510 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greenough 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 Greenough with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.9K
1 in 182,510
Census rank
#16,964
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,638 bearers of the surname Greenough in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16964th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenough, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greenough
The surname GREENOUGH is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "grene" meaning "green" and "hough" meaning "ridge" or "hill," suggesting that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a green hill or ridge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GREENOUGH name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a Roger de Grenehull is mentioned. This early spelling variation reflects the name's evolution over time.
In the 13th century, the GREENOUGH name appeared in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a Robert de Grenehull is listed. This suggests that the name was well-established in different parts of England by this period.
The GREENOUGH surname is also closely tied to place names in England. For example, there is a village called Greenough in Northamptonshire, which likely contributed to the surname's origins and early use.
One notable early bearer of the GREENOUGH name was Sir Bevil Greenough (1596-1643), an English Civil War soldier who fought for King Charles I and was killed at the Battle of Lansdowne in Somerset.
In the 17th century, the GREENOUGH name gained prominence with the birth of Edward Greenough (1642-1737), a British politician and member of the Parliament of Great Britain for Launceston from 1708 to 1710.
Another significant figure was Horatio Greenough (1805-1852), an American sculptor and the first American to gain recognition as a sculptor abroad. He is best known for his marble statue "The Grecian Maiden" and the bust of John Adams.
In the 19th century, James Bradstreet Greenough (1833-1901) was a prominent American scholar and author who made significant contributions to the study of Latin grammar and composition.
One of the most famous bearers of the GREENOUGH name in the 20th century was Chester Noyes Greenough (1888-1976), an American psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School, renowned for his work on personality disorders and psychoanalytic theory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greenough
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenough, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Greenough 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 Greenough surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,476
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 83
- Two or more races3.2% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greenough
Greenough 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
#16,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,763
+3 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,016 places
2020
#16,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,638
-125 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 621 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,327 | 1,760 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,343 | 1,763 | 0.60 | +3 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 1,016 places |
| 2020 | #16,964 | 1,638 | 0.55 | -125 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 621 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 Greenough 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 | #16,343 | #16,964 | -3.8% |
| Count | 1,763 | 1,638 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.55 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greenough bearers went from 1,763 to 1,638 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 621 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,343 to #16,964.
FAQ
Greenough surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greenough?
Name Census estimates that about 1,878 living Americans carry the surname Greenough. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 182,510 residents.
How common is Greenough?
Greenough ranks #16,964 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.55 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 1,638 people with the surname Greenough. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,878), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.55 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 Greenough.
Has Greenough become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greenough went from 1,763 recorded bearers to 1,638. That is a decrease of 125 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,343 to #16,964.
What does the Census say about the background of Greenough?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenough, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Greenough in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,476 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greenough appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Greenough (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 Greenough mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a green, hilly place. 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 Greenough (0.55 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 have the surname Greenough?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.