Find out how popular the last name Grimm is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Grimm.

Grimm, 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 Grimm surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grimm in America

Grimm is the 1630th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grimm surname appeared 22,103 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Grimm.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grimm 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.

The history of the last name Grimm

The surname GRIMM originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "grimmi," which means "fierce" or "grim." The name was likely given to someone with a stern or severe demeanor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the GRIMM surname appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the former Anhalt region of Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also found in various medieval manuscripts and records from across Germany.

In the 14th century, variations of the GRIMM surname emerged, such as Grym, Grymme, and Grim. These spelling variations were often influenced by regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.

The GRIMM surname has been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the most famous was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and his brother Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), renowned German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors of the iconic Grimms' Fairy Tales collection.

Another notable bearer of the GRIMM name was Hans Grimm (1875-1959), a German writer and journalist known for his novels depicting rural life in Lower Saxony. His works, such as "Volk ohne Raum" (People Without Space), gained popularity during the early 20th century.

Friedrich Melchior Grimm (1723-1807) was a German writer and diplomat who served as a personal secretary to the Duke of Orléans and later became a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment intellectual circles.

In the realm of science, Johann Friedrich Karl Grimm (1737-1821) was a German botanist and taxonomist who made significant contributions to the classification of plant species.

The GRIMM surname has also been associated with various place names across Germany, such as Grimmstadt, Grimmelshausen, and Grimmertshausen, reflecting the widespread presence of the name throughout the country's history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grimm

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Grimm.

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Grimm was:

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 Grimm has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

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 Grimm was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Grimm, please contact us.

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