2000
#31,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 686
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Grinde
A topographic surname referring to one who lived near a stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 719 Americans carry the last name Grinde. That puts it at #38,070 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 476,710 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grinde 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.
Bearers in the US
719
1 in 476,710
Census rank
#38,070
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
627
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 627 bearers of the surname Grinde in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 38070th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grinde, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grinde
The surname GRINDE originated in Norway during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse word "grind," which means "gate" or "fence." This suggests that the name may have been used to identify someone who lived near a gate or worked as a gatekeeper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GRINDE surname can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents. In a document dated 1389, a man named Torstein Grinde is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Telemark.
During the 16th century, the GRINDE surname appears to have spread beyond Norway. Records from the Dutch port city of Amsterdam show a merchant named Jan Grinde operating a trading company in the 1570s, likely indicating that he or his ancestors had emigrated from Norway.
In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the GRINDE surname was Christen Grinde, a Norwegian farmer and landowner who lived in the Gudbrandsdalen valley from 1621 to 1698. His descendants continued to use the GRINDE name, and some of them became prominent figures in their local communities.
Another significant figure in the history of the GRINDE surname was Hans Grinde, a Norwegian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1785, he fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, and was awarded the War Medal for his service.
In the 19th century, the GRINDE surname began to appear in other parts of the world as Norwegians emigrated to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Nils Grinde, a Norwegian-American farmer who settled in Fillmore County, Minnesota, in the 1860s.
Another significant figure with the GRINDE surname was Olav Grinde, a Norwegian author and poet who lived from 1857 to 1935. He is best known for his novels and short stories that depicted rural life in Norway during the late 19th century.
Throughout its history, the GRINDE surname has been associated with various place names and locations in Norway, such as Grindheim, Grindvoll, and Grindalen, which likely derived from the same Old Norse root word as the surname itself.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grinde
Among Census respondents with the surname Grinde, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Grinde 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 Grinde surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 574
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 23
- Two or more races3.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 6
- Black or African American0.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grinde
Grinde 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
#40,672
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 537
-149 bearers (-21.7%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 8,855 places
2020
#38,070
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 627
+90 bearers (+16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 2,602 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,817 | 686 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #40,672 | 537 | 0.18 | -149 bearers (-21.7%) | Down 8,855 places |
| 2020 | #38,070 | 627 | 0.21 | +90 bearers (+16.8%) | Up 2,602 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 Grinde 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 | #40,672 | #38,070 | 6.4% |
| Count | 537 | 627 | 16.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.21 | 16.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grinde bearers went from 537 to 627 (+16.8% change). The surname moved up 2,602 positions in the national ranking, going from #40,672 to #38,070.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Grinde
FAQ
Grinde surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grinde?
Name Census estimates that about 719 living Americans carry the surname Grinde. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 476,710 residents.
How common is Grinde?
Grinde ranks #38,070 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 627 people with the surname Grinde. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (719), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Grinde.
Has Grinde become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grinde went from 537 recorded bearers to 627. That is an increase of 90 (+16.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #40,672 to #38,070.
What does the Census say about the background of Grinde?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grinde, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Grinde in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (574 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grinde appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (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 Grinde (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 Grinde mean?
A topographic surname referring to one who lived near a stream. 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 Grinde (0.21 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 people are called Grinde?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Grinde on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.