2000
#1,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,756
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.81
Uncommon Last name
Griggs
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a ravine, gulch, or narrow cleft.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,427 Americans carry the last name Griggs. That puts it at #1,454 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Griggs 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 Griggs with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,497
Census rank
#1,454
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,918 bearers of the surname Griggs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1454th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Griggs, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Griggs
The surname Griggs is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "grig," meaning a small hill or ridge. It is believed to have originated in the 11th century as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a small hill or ridge.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Grigge" and "Grigges." This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
During the Middle Ages, the name was commonly spelled in various ways, including Grigge, Grigges, Gryggs, and Grygges, reflecting the inconsistent spelling practices of the time. Over the centuries, the spelling eventually stabilized to its modern form, Griggs.
The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk, where many early bearers of the name were landowners or farmers living near ridges or small hills.
One notable figure bearing the name Griggs was Sir Edward Griggs (1545-1611), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as the Recorder of York and was knighted in 1603.
Another prominent individual was Thomas Griggs (1683-1766), an English architect and surveyor who worked on various notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and the Queen's House in Greenwich.
In the 18th century, John Griggs (1720-1789) was a renowned English engraver and printmaker, known for his intricate landscape prints and book illustrations.
During the American Revolutionary War, Samuel Griggs (1756-1819) served as a lieutenant in the Continental Army and fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Yorktown.
In the 19th century, John Griggs (1828-1903) was a prominent American politician and lawyer who served as the Governor of New Jersey from 1896 to 1898.
The surname Griggs has a rich history, originating from the Old English language and reflecting the geographic features of the areas where its early bearers lived. It has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, from law and politics to architecture and the arts, throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Griggs
Among Census respondents with the surname Griggs, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Griggs 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 Griggs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.4% · 15,872
- Black or African American24.3% · 5,804
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,077
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 833
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 148
Timeline
Historical Census data for Griggs
Griggs 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
#1,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,819
+1,063 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 8.41
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#1,454
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,918
-901 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 8.00
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,369 | 23,756 | 8.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,437 | 24,819 | 8.41 | +1,063 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #1,454 | 23,918 | 8.00 | -901 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 17 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 Griggs 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 | #1,437 | #1,454 | -1.2% |
| Count | 24,819 | 23,918 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 8.41 | 8.00 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Griggs bearers went from 24,819 to 23,918 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,437 to #1,454.
FAQ
Griggs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Griggs?
Name Census estimates that about 27,427 living Americans carry the surname Griggs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,497 residents.
How common is Griggs?
Griggs ranks #1,454 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,918 people with the surname Griggs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,427), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Griggs.
Has Griggs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Griggs went from 24,819 recorded bearers to 23,918. That is a decrease of 901 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,437 to #1,454.
What does the Census say about the background of Griggs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Griggs, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Griggs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (15,872 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Griggs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.4%), Black (24.3%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Griggs (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 Griggs mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a ravine, gulch, or narrow cleft. 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 Griggs (8.00 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 common is the surname Griggs?
Want to know how many people are called Griggs? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.