2000
#116,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Gremaux
A French surname derived from the word "gremil" meaning buckhorn plantain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Gremaux. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gremaux 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.
Bearers in the US
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Gremaux in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gremaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gremaux
The surname Gremaux has its origins in France, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the region of Normandy, where it was derived from the Old French words "gramel" or "gremel," meaning "gravel" or "coarse sand."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gremaux can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Gremaux, who held estates in the county of Hampshire.
During the 13th century, the name Gremaux appeared in various historical records, such as the Cartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, where a certain Petrus de Gremaux is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in 1248.
The earliest known bearer of the surname Gremaux was Jean Gremaux, a nobleman from the village of Gremaux-sur-Oise in the Picardy region of northern France. He was born around 1320 and served as a knight in the service of King Philip VI during the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable figure with the surname Gremaux was Guillaume Gremaux, a 15th-century French cleric and theologian. He was born in Rouen in 1420 and served as the Bishop of Vabres from 1466 until his death in 1489.
During the Renaissance period, the name Gremaux appeared in various literary works, including the poetry of François Villon, who mentioned a character named Jehan Gremaux in his famous work, "Le Testament."
In the 17th century, a prominent member of the Gremaux family was Michel Gremaux, a French painter and engraver born in Paris in 1635. He is known for his portraiture and religious works, some of which can be found in the Louvre Museum.
Another notable bearer of the surname Gremaux was Étienne Gremaux, a French soldier and explorer who lived in the 18th century. He was born in Dijon in 1720 and served in the French Army during the Seven Years' War. Gremaux later joined an expedition to explore the interior of North America, where he made significant contributions to the mapping of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gremaux
Among Census respondents with the surname Gremaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gremaux 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 Gremaux surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.6% · 108
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gremaux
Gremaux 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
-1 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 8,425 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-25 bearers (-18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,673 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,123 | 139 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | -1 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 8,425 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -25 bearers (-18.1%) | Down 22,673 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 Gremaux 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 | #124,548 | #147,221 | -18.2% |
| Count | 138 | 113 | -18.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -24.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gremaux bearers went from 138 to 113 (-18.1% change). The surname moved down 22,673 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #147,221.
FAQ
Gremaux surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gremaux?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Gremaux. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Gremaux?
Gremaux ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Gremaux. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gremaux.
Has Gremaux become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gremaux went from 138 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 25 (-18.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Gremaux?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gremaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Gremaux in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gremaux appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.6%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Gremaux (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 Gremaux mean?
A French surname derived from the word "gremil" meaning buckhorn plantain. 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 Gremaux (0.04 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 last name Gremaux?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Gremaux is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.