2000
#1,510
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,757
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.07
Uncommon Last name
Grimm
A German occupational surname referring to a fierce or intimidating person, often a mask-wearer or performer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,563 Americans carry the last name Grimm. That puts it at #1,626 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,954 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grimm 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 Grimm with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
25K
1 in 13,954
Census rank
#1,626
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,420 bearers of the surname Grimm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1626th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grimm, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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of the earliest recorded instances of the GRIMM surname appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the former Anhalt region of Germany, dating back to the 13th century.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grimm
Among Census respondents with the surname Grimm, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Grimm 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 Grimm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 19,674
- Two or more races3.2% · 688
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 663
- Black or African American0.8% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 170
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grimm
Grimm 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
#1,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,103
+346 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 7.49
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#1,626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,420
-683 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 7.17
Rank movement Up 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,510 | 21,757 | 8.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,630 | 22,103 | 7.49 | +346 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #1,626 | 21,420 | 7.17 | -683 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 4 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 Grimm 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 | #1,630 | #1,626 | 0.2% |
| Count | 22,103 | 21,420 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 7.49 | 7.17 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grimm bearers went from 22,103 to 21,420 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,630 to #1,626.
FAQ
Grimm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grimm?
Name Census estimates that about 24,563 living Americans carry the surname Grimm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,954 residents.
How common is Grimm?
Grimm ranks #1,626 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,420 people with the surname Grimm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,563), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Grimm.
Has Grimm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grimm went from 22,103 recorded bearers to 21,420. That is a decrease of 683 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,630 to #1,626.
What does the Census say about the background of Grimm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grimm, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Grimm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (19,674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grimm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Grimm (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 Grimm mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a fierce or intimidating person, often a mask-wearer or performer. 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 Grimm (7.17 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 Grimm?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.