2000
#8,025
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,813
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.41
Rare Last name
Grindstaff
An English occupational surname for someone who worked in a flour mill or grain grinding facility.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,020 Americans carry the last name Grindstaff. That puts it at #8,958 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grindstaff 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
4.0K
1 in 85,262
Census rank
#8,958
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,506 bearers of the surname Grindstaff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8958th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grindstaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grindstaff
The surname Grindstaff originated in England during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "grindere," meaning a grinder or miller, and "stæf," meaning staff or pole. The name likely referred to an occupation or trade, specifically someone who operated a grinding staff or mill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Grindstaff can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, where it appears as "Gryndestaf." This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 13th century in the northern English county of Yorkshire.
The Grindstaff family can also be traced back to the village of Ecclesfield, located in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In the Hearth Tax Returns of 1672, several Grindstaff families are listed as residing in Ecclesfield, indicating their presence in the area during the 17th century.
Notable individuals with the surname Grindstaff throughout history include:
1. Robert Grindstaff (c. 1680-1758), an early American settler who migrated from Yorkshire to the Virginia Colony in the early 18th century, establishing the Grindstaff family line in the New World.
2. William Grindstaff (1776-1853), a prominent farmer and landowner in Ashe County, North Carolina, who served as a militia captain during the War of 1812.
3. Reverend John Grindstaff (1819-1897), a Baptist minister and circuit rider who helped establish several churches in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
4. Mary Grindstaff (1857-1935), a renowned quilter and folk artist from Haywood County, North Carolina, whose intricate quilt patterns and designs were widely acclaimed.
5. James Grindstaff (1892-1973), a World War I veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart, who later became a respected community leader in Bristol, Tennessee.
The name Grindstaff has also been closely associated with several place names in the Appalachian region of the United States, such as Grindstaff Cove and Grindstaff Branch, reflecting the historical presence of the family in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grindstaff
Among Census respondents with the surname Grindstaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Grindstaff 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 Grindstaff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 3,227
- Two or more races3.7% · 129
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grindstaff
Grindstaff 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
#8,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,754
-59 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Down 711 places
2020
#8,958
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,506
-248 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 222 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,025 | 3,813 | 1.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,736 | 3,754 | 1.27 | -59 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 711 places |
| 2020 | #8,958 | 3,506 | 1.17 | -248 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 222 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 Grindstaff 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 | #8,736 | #8,958 | -2.5% |
| Count | 3,754 | 3,506 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.17 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grindstaff bearers went from 3,754 to 3,506 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 222 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,736 to #8,958.
FAQ
Grindstaff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grindstaff?
Name Census estimates that about 4,020 living Americans carry the surname Grindstaff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,262 residents.
How common is Grindstaff?
Grindstaff ranks #8,958 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,506 people with the surname Grindstaff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,020), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Grindstaff.
Has Grindstaff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grindstaff went from 3,754 recorded bearers to 3,506. That is a decrease of 248 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,736 to #8,958.
What does the Census say about the background of Grindstaff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grindstaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Grindstaff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (3,227 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grindstaff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Grindstaff (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 Grindstaff mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who worked in a flour mill or grain grinding facility. 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 Grindstaff (1.17 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 people share the surname Grindstaff?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.