2000
#626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,245
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.25
Uncommon Last name
Grimes
Derived from a place name or from the Old English word "grima," meaning a mask or helmet.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 54,199 Americans carry the last name Grimes. That puts it at #709 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grimes 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 Grimes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
54K
1 in 6,324
Census rank
#709
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
47K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 47,264 bearers of the surname Grimes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 709th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grimes
The surname Grimes originates from England and can be traced back to the 12th century. It derives from the Old French word "grime," meaning a mask or a dark, soiled appearance. The name likely referred to someone with a swarthy complexion or perhaps a profession that involved working with soot or dirt.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Grimes appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, where a Richard Gryme is mentioned. The surname is also found in various medieval records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301, which reference a William Gryme.
The Grimes surname has several spelling variations, including Grime, Grym, and Grimshawe. These variations can be found in historical documents from different regions of England. For example, the spelling "Grimshawe" was more common in Lancashire, possibly derived from a place name.
In the late 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Thomas Grimes, an English dramatist and pamphleteer who was born around 1570. He is best known for his plays "The Modell of a New Fayre" and "The Punycke Warre."
Another prominent figure was Sir Edward Grimes (1561-1627), an English naval commander and explorer who led expeditions to the West Indies and South America. He was knighted in 1618 for his services to the Crown.
During the English Civil War, John Grimes (1604-1678) was a prominent Puritan clergyman and member of the Westminster Assembly, which helped shape the doctrine and government of the Church of England.
In the 18th century, Samuel Grimes (1744-1811) was a British naval officer who played a crucial role in the Battle of Camperdown during the French Revolutionary Wars.
One of the most notable bearers of the Grimes surname was Sir Bryan Grimes (1828-1905), a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honor in the British Empire, for his bravery during the siege of Delhi.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grimes
Among Census respondents with the surname Grimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Grimes 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 Grimes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 34,096
- Black or African American19.1% · 9,015
- Two or more races4.3% · 2,021
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,619
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 268
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 245
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grimes
Grimes 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
#686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,245
+1,000 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 17.03
Rank movement Down 60 places
2020
#709
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,264
-2,981 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 15.81
Rank movement Down 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #626 | 49,245 | 18.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #686 | 50,245 | 17.03 | +1,000 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 60 places |
| 2020 | #709 | 47,264 | 15.81 | -2,981 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 23 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 Grimes 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 | #686 | #709 | -3.4% |
| Count | 50,245 | 47,264 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 17.03 | 15.81 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grimes bearers went from 50,245 to 47,264 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #686 to #709.
FAQ
Grimes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grimes?
Name Census estimates that about 54,199 living Americans carry the surname Grimes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,324 residents.
How common is Grimes?
Grimes ranks #709 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 47,264 people with the surname Grimes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (54,199), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Grimes.
Has Grimes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grimes went from 50,245 recorded bearers to 47,264. That is a decrease of 2,981 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #686 to #709.
What does the Census say about the background of Grimes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Grimes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (34,096 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grimes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Black (19.1%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Grimes (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 Grimes mean?
Derived from a place name or from the Old English word "grima," meaning a mask or helmet. 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 Grimes (15.81 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 Grimes?
Want to know how many people have the last name Grimes? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.