2000
#4,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,895
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.93
Rare Last name
Griffis
Derived from the Welsh name Gruffudd, meaning "lord" or "prince," or from a nickname for someone with red hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,052 Americans carry the last name Griffis. That puts it at #4,347 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,865 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Griffis 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 Griffis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.1K
1 in 37,865
Census rank
#4,347
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,894 bearers of the surname Griffis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4347th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Griffis, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Griffis
The surname GRIFFIS is believed to have originated in Wales during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the Welsh name Griffith, which is derived from the Old Welsh elements "griff" meaning "vigor" or "strength" and "rhi" meaning "lord" or "leader." The name was likely adopted as a patronymic, meaning it would have initially referred to the son or descendant of someone named Griffith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GRIFFIS can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landholdings and property ownership in England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this document, a person named Griffyn filius Griffis is mentioned as holding land in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Over time, the name GRIFFIS spread beyond Wales and into other parts of Britain and eventually to other parts of the world through migration and colonization. Throughout its history, the name has appeared in various spellings, including Griffis, Griffiss, Griffies, and Griffeys, among others.
One notable historical figure with the surname GRIFFIS was John Griffis (c. 1599-1675), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of St. Albans from 1661 until his death. Another was William Griffis (1836-1928), an American writer and educator who published several books about Japan and its culture.
In the 17th century, a branch of the GRIFFIS family settled in the American colonies, and several individuals with this surname played roles in the American Revolutionary War. For example, Samuel Griffis (1753-1826) served as a soldier in the Continental Army, while his brother Ichabod Griffis (1755-1844) served in the militia in New Jersey.
Another notable bearer of the GRIFFIS name was Stanton Griffis (1887-1975), an American businessman and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain from 1951 to 1952 and later as the Ambassador to Argentina from 1960 to 1962.
Throughout its long history, the surname GRIFFIS has maintained a strong connection to its Welsh origins, even as it has spread across the globe and adapted to various cultural and linguistic contexts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Griffis
Among Census respondents with the surname Griffis, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Griffis 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 Griffis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 6,791
- Black or African American6.1% · 479
- Two or more races4.1% · 324
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 246
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Griffis
Griffis 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
#4,278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,309
+414 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Down 124 places
2020
#4,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,894
-415 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 2.64
Rank movement Down 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,154 | 7,895 | 2.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,278 | 8,309 | 2.82 | +414 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 124 places |
| 2020 | #4,347 | 7,894 | 2.64 | -415 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 69 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 Griffis 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 | #4,278 | #4,347 | -1.6% |
| Count | 8,309 | 7,894 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.64 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Griffis bearers went from 8,309 to 7,894 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,278 to #4,347.
FAQ
Griffis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Griffis?
Name Census estimates that about 9,052 living Americans carry the surname Griffis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,865 residents.
How common is Griffis?
Griffis ranks #4,347 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,894 people with the surname Griffis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,052), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Griffis.
Has Griffis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Griffis went from 8,309 recorded bearers to 7,894. That is a decrease of 415 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,278 to #4,347.
What does the Census say about the background of Griffis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Griffis, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Griffis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (6,791 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Griffis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Black (6.1%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Griffis (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 Griffis mean?
Derived from the Welsh name Gruffudd, meaning "lord" or "prince," or from a nickname for someone with red hair. 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 Griffis (2.64 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 Griffis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.