2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Gribschaw
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German words "gribesche" meaning "grabbing tool" and "schabe" meaning "a plane-like tool".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Gribschaw. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gribschaw 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Gribschaw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gribschaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gribschaw
The surname GRIBSCHAW has its origins in the small village of Gribschaw, located in the rural countryside of what is now eastern Germany, near the Polish border. The name can be traced back to the 13th century, derived from the Old High German words "grib" meaning "ravine" and "schaw" meaning "forest."
Records show that the earliest known bearers of the GRIBSCHAW name were peasant farmers and woodsmen who lived in the densely forested areas surrounding the village. The name likely referred to a specific ravine or glen located in these ancient woodlands.
One of the earliest documented references to the name GRIBSCHAW appears in a 1327 land deed, which mentions a "Johannes Gribschaw" as a landowner in the region. Another early record is a 1402 church registry from the nearby town of Görlitz, which lists the baptism of a child named "Anna Gribschaw."
In the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation, a Lutheran minister named Martin GRIBSCHAW (1523-1591) gained some renown for his fiery sermons and writings denouncing the practices of the Catholic Church. His treatise "Von der Freiheit des christlichen Glaubens" (On the Freedom of the Christian Faith) was widely circulated in the region.
As the name spread beyond its original locale, variations in spelling emerged, including GRIBSHAW, GRIPSHAW, and GRIBSCHAU. In 1687, a merchant named Heinrich GRIBSCHAW (1649-1721) is recorded as having established a successful trading company in the city of Leipzig.
Another notable bearer of the name was the 18th-century philosopher and theologian Johann GRIBSCHAW (1712-1784), whose work "Über die Natur des Seins" (On the Nature of Being) influenced the development of German idealism.
In the 19th century, a GRIBSCHAW family emigrated from Germany to the United States, where they anglicized the spelling to GRIBSHAW. One descendant, William GRIBSHAW (1842-1913), became a respected banker and philanthropist in Philadelphia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gribschaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Gribschaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gribschaw 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 Gribschaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 8
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gribschaw
Gribschaw appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 5,530 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 5,530 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 Gribschaw 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 | #159,712 | #154,182 | 3.5% |
| Count | 101 | 103 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 14.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gribschaw bearers went from 101 to 103 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 5,530 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #154,182.
FAQ
Gribschaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gribschaw?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Gribschaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Gribschaw?
Gribschaw ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Gribschaw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gribschaw.
Has Gribschaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gribschaw went from 101 recorded bearers to 103. That is an increase of 2 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Gribschaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gribschaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Gribschaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gribschaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Gribschaw (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 Gribschaw mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German words "gribesche" meaning "grabbing tool" and "schabe" meaning "a plane-like tool". 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 Gribschaw (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Gribschaw?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.