Find out how popular the last name Griffith is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Griffith.
A Welsh surname derived from the given name Gruffudd, meaning "lord" or "prince."
Griffith, 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 Griffith surname is from the 2010 census data.
Griffith is the 414th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Griffith surname appeared 78,260 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 27 people would have the surname Griffith.
We can also compare 2010 data for Griffith 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 | 414 | 369 | 11.49% |
| Count | 78,260 | 77,429 | 1.07% |
| Proportion per 100k | 26.53 | 28.70 | -7.86% |
The surname Griffith has its origins in Wales, deriving from the Welsh personal name Gruffudd, which is a compound of the Welsh elements gru, meaning "vigor" or "ardor," and ffudd, meaning "lord" or "prince." The name Gruffudd is believed to have been first used around the 9th or 10th century.
The name Griffith is thought to have emerged as an Anglicized form of Gruffudd during the Middle Ages, as the Welsh and English cultures intermingled. The earliest recorded instances of the surname Griffith can be found in medieval records from Wales and the Welsh Marches, the border region between Wales and England.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Griffith can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Griffith in Cheshire, England.
In the 12th century, a prominent figure named Griffith ap Cynan (c. 1055-1137) was a Welsh king and prince who ruled the Kingdom of Gwynedd. He played a significant role in the struggle for Welsh independence against the Normans.
Another notable individual with the surname Griffith was Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd (c. 1508-1531), a Welsh landowner and member of the gentry who led a rebellion against the English crown in 1536, known as the Glamorgan Uprising.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Griffith became more widespread in England, particularly in the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Cheshire, where many Welsh families had settled.
In later centuries, several individuals with the surname Griffith made significant contributions in various fields. For example, David Griffith (1792-1863) was a Welsh nonconformist minister and writer, while William Griffith (1810-1845) was a British geologist and naturalist who made important contributions to the study of Indian paleontology and geology.
Another notable figure was Arthur Griffith (1871-1922), an Irish political leader and the principal founder of the Irish Free State. He played a pivotal role in the Irish independence movement and served as the President of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State in 1922.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and significance of the surname Griffith, which has its roots in the ancient Welsh language and has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions throughout the centuries.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Griffith.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Griffith was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 83.93% | 65,684 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 10.40% | 8,139 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.55% | 430 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.67% | 524 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.88% | 1,471 |
| Hispanic Origin | 2.56% | 2,003 |
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 Griffith has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 83.93% | 85.82% | -2.23% |
| Black | 10.40% | 9.80% | 5.94% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.55% | 0.37% | 39.13% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.67% | 0.66% | 1.50% |
| Two or More Races | 1.88% | 1.62% | 14.86% |
| Hispanic | 2.56% | 1.74% | 38.14% |
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 Griffith was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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