2000
#369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 77,429
First available Census row
Per 100,000 28.70
Uncommon Last name
Griffith
A Welsh surname derived from the given name Gruffudd, meaning "lord" or "prince."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 86,553 Americans carry the last name Griffith. That puts it at #425 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 25.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Griffith 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 Griffith with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
87K
1 in 3,960
Census rank
#425
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
25.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
75K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 75,478 bearers of the surname Griffith in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 25.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 425th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Griffith, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Griffith
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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Griffith
Among Census respondents with the surname Griffith, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Griffith 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 Griffith surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 61,033
- Black or African American10.3% · 7,783
- Two or more races4.1% · 3,097
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 2,604
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 504
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 457
Timeline
Historical Census data for Griffith
Griffith 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
#414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 78,260
+831 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 26.53
Rank movement Down 45 places
2020
#425
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 75,478
-2,782 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 25.25
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #369 | 77,429 | 28.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #414 | 78,260 | 26.53 | +831 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 45 places |
| 2020 | #425 | 75,478 | 25.25 | -2,782 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 11 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 Griffith 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 | #414 | #425 | -2.7% |
| Count | 78,260 | 75,478 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 26.53 | 25.25 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Griffith bearers went from 78,260 to 75,478 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #414 to #425.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Griffith
FAQ
Griffith surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Griffith?
Name Census estimates that about 86,553 living Americans carry the surname Griffith. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,960 residents.
How common is Griffith?
Griffith ranks #425 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 25.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 25 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 75,478 people with the surname Griffith. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (86,553), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 25.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 25.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 25 of them to have the surname Griffith.
Has Griffith become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Griffith went from 78,260 recorded bearers to 75,478. That is a decrease of 2,782 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #414 to #425.
What does the Census say about the background of Griffith?
Among Census respondents with the surname Griffith, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) 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 Griffith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (61,033 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Griffith appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (10.3%), 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 Griffith (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 Griffith mean?
A Welsh surname derived from the given name Gruffudd, meaning "lord" or "prince." 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 Griffith (25.25 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 Griffith?
See how many people have the surname Griffith on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.