Grégoire last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Grégoire

Derived from the Latin name Gregorius, meaning "watchful" or "vigilant," an occupational surname for a church servant or watchman.

Grégoire, 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 Grégoire surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grégoire in America

Grégoire is the 5976th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grégoire surname appeared 5,757 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Grégoire.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grégoire 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 5976 5882 1.59%
Count 5,757 5,387 6.64%
Proportion per 100k 1.95 2.00 -2.53%

The history of the last name Grégoire

The surname Gregoire has its origins in France, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin name "Gregorius," which means "watchful" or "vigilant." The name Gregoire is closely associated with Saint Gregory the Great, who served as Pope from 590 to 604 AD.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Gregoire can be found in various French records from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable reference is in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a medieval manuscript that mentions a person named Petrus Gregoire in 1170.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Gregoire was particularly prominent in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and the Île-de-France. It is believed that the name may have originated from place names such as Grégoire-en-Vexin, a commune in the Eure department of Normandy.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Gregoire was Hugues Gregoire, a French scholar and theologian who lived from 1550 to 1631. He was a prominent figure during the Counter-Reformation and is known for his work defending the Catholic Church against Protestantism.

Another notable figure was Henri Gregoire, a French Roman Catholic priest, and revolutionary leader who lived from 1750 to 1831. He was a prominent figure during the French Revolution and advocated for the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of Jews in France.

In the 19th century, Gaspard Gregoire (1829-1913) was a renowned French geologist and paleontologist. He made significant contributions to the study of fossils and the understanding of Earth's geological history.

During the 20th century, Henri Gregoire (1881-1964) was a Belgian classical scholar and philologist. He is best known for his work on the history of ancient Greek and Byzantine literature.

Lastly, Robert Gregoire (1924-2013) was a French film director and screenwriter. He is particularly known for his work in the crime and thriller genres, including the film "La Meilleure façon de marcher" (1976).

These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the surname Gregoire, which has its roots in medieval France and is associated with the Latin name "Gregorius."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grégoire

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

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 Grégoire was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 82.68% 4,760
Non-Hispanic Black Only 10.42% 600
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.52% 30
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 2.41% 139
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.60% 92
Hispanic Origin 2.36% 136

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 Grégoire has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 82.68% 85.54% -3.40%
Black 10.42% 8.58% 19.37%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.52% 0.37% 33.71%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 2.41% 1.95% 21.10%
Two or More Races 1.60% 1.93% -18.70%
Hispanic 2.36% 1.63% 36.59%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Grégoire last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/gregoire-surname-popularity/.

"Grégoire last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/gregoire-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Grégoire last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/gregoire-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.