2000
#6,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,659
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.73
Rare Last name
Grigg
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "at the ridge" or "at the rock."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,280 Americans carry the last name Grigg. That puts it at #7,032 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,916 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grigg 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 Grigg with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,916
Census rank
#7,032
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,604 bearers of the surname Grigg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7032nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grigg, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grigg
The surname Grigg is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English words "grig" or "gricg", meaning "Greek" or "young warrior". It is believed to have originated as a nickname or occupational name for someone who had spent time in Greece or had some association with Greek culture.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Grig" and "Grigge" in various counties across England. This suggests that the name was already well-established in different regions by the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "le Grigge", "Grigges", and "Grygg", reflecting the diverse spellings common in medieval times. One notable early bearer of the name was John Grygg, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Surrey in 1243.
The name has also been associated with certain place names, such as Grigglestone in Yorkshire, which was recorded as "Grigeston" in the Domesday Book. This suggests that some bearers of the name may have taken their surnames from the locations where they lived or held land.
Notable historical figures with the surname Grigg include:
1. Thomas Grigg (c. 1561-1638), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1626 to 1638.
2. John Grigg (1646-1718), a Welsh politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Cardigan Boroughs from 1689 to 1701.
3. William Grigg (1766-1830), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including St. Pancras New Church.
4. John Grigg (1859-1937), a New Zealand politician and lawyer who served as the Attorney-General of New Zealand from 1919 to 1926.
5. Edward Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham (1879-1955), a British politician and writer who served as the Governor of Kenya from 1925 to 1931 and later as the Rector of the University of Edinburgh.
While the name Grigg has its roots in England and Wales, it has since spread to other parts of the world, carried by migration and exploration over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grigg
Among Census respondents with the surname Grigg, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Grigg 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 Grigg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 4,099
- Two or more races4.0% · 183
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 138
- Black or African American2.5% · 116
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grigg
Grigg 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
#7,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,757
+98 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 354 places
2020
#7,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,604
-153 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,684 | 4,659 | 1.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,038 | 4,757 | 1.61 | +98 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 354 places |
| 2020 | #7,032 | 4,604 | 1.54 | -153 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 6 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 Grigg 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 | #7,038 | #7,032 | 0.1% |
| Count | 4,757 | 4,604 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.61 | 1.54 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grigg bearers went from 4,757 to 4,604 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,038 to #7,032.
FAQ
Grigg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grigg?
Name Census estimates that about 5,280 living Americans carry the surname Grigg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,916 residents.
How common is Grigg?
Grigg ranks #7,032 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,604 people with the surname Grigg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,280), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Grigg.
Has Grigg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grigg went from 4,757 recorded bearers to 4,604. That is a decrease of 153 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,038 to #7,032.
What does the Census say about the background of Grigg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grigg, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Grigg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (4,099 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grigg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Grigg (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 Grigg mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "at the ridge" or "at the rock." 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 Grigg (1.54 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 Grigg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.