2000
#552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,611
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.24
Uncommon Last name
Greer
A Scottish topographical surname referring to someone who lived near a patch of gravelly soil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 63,171 Americans carry the last name Greer. That puts it at #596 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,426 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greer 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 Greer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
63K
1 in 5,426
Census rank
#596
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
55K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 55,088 bearers of the surname Greer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 596th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greer, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greer
The surname Greer originated in Scotland and is derived from the Gaelic word "griar," which means "watchman" or "guardian." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who served as a watchman or guardian, perhaps for a Scottish clan or landowner.
The earliest recorded instances of the Greer surname date back to the 12th century in Scotland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Gillechrist Gryr, who was mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England.
The Greer surname is also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Greerston in Renfrewshire and Greers in Aberdeenshire. These place names may have derived from the surname or vice versa, with the name potentially originating from a particular location where the family resided.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the Greer surname was Robert Greer, a Scottish Protestant reformer and minister who lived from around 1510 to 1590. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Reformation and played a role in the establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland.
Another historical figure with the Greer surname was Sir Robert Greer, a Scottish military commander who lived from 1638 to 1708. He served as a colonel in the British Army and fought in several battles during the Williamite War in Ireland.
In the 18th century, John Greer (1720-1805) was a Scottish-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He served as a captain in the Continental Army and was present at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.
Moving to the 19th century, Eliza Greer (1804-1887) was a Scottish-born American philanthropist and educator. She founded several schools and educational institutions in the United States, including Greer College in Hoopeston, Illinois.
In the 20th century, Germaine Greer (born 1939) is an Australian academic, writer, and feminist activist. She is best known for her influential book "The Female Eunuch," which became a landmark publication in the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greer
Among Census respondents with the surname Greer, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Greer 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 Greer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.2% · 38,681
- Black or African American21.0% · 11,587
- Two or more races4.5% · 2,454
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,827
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 319
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 220
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greer
Greer 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
#590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,043
+2,432 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 19.34
Rank movement Down 38 places
2020
#596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,088
-1,955 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 18.43
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #552 | 54,611 | 20.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #590 | 57,043 | 19.34 | +2,432 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 38 places |
| 2020 | #596 | 55,088 | 18.43 | -1,955 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 6 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 Greer 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 | #590 | #596 | -1.0% |
| Count | 57,043 | 55,088 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 19.34 | 18.43 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greer bearers went from 57,043 to 55,088 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #590 to #596.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Greer
FAQ
Greer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greer?
Name Census estimates that about 63,171 living Americans carry the surname Greer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,426 residents.
How common is Greer?
Greer ranks #596 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 55,088 people with the surname Greer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (63,171), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Greer.
Has Greer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greer went from 57,043 recorded bearers to 55,088. That is a decrease of 1,955 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #590 to #596.
What does the Census say about the background of Greer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greer, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Greer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (38,681 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.2%), Black (21.0%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Greer (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 Greer mean?
A Scottish topographical surname referring to someone who lived near a patch of gravelly soil. 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 Greer (18.43 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 are called Greer?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Greer at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.