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

Grisham, 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 Grisham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grisham in America

Grisham is the 5148th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grisham surname appeared 6,798 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Grisham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grisham 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 Grisham

The surname Grisham has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "gris" meaning gray and "ham" meaning a homestead or village. This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived in a gray-colored village or hamlet.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Grisham can be found in various historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable mention is in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, which lists a John de Grisham as a landholder in the county. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 also reference a William Grysham among the taxpayers of the region.

During the medieval period, the name appears to have been particularly concentrated in the counties of Bedfordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. Variations in spelling, such as Grysham, Grishame, and Grisam, were common due to the inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Grisham name was Robert Grisham, who was born in Bedfordshire around 1320. He is mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Warden as a freeholder in the village of Sharnbrook.

Another notable figure was Sir John Grisham, a knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century. He fought in several battles against the French, including the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and was granted lands in Gloucestershire for his service.

In the 16th century, the name Grisham can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, where a Thomas Grisham was recorded as a churchwarden in 1563.

During the 17th century, the Grisham family had established roots in the village of Grayshott in Hampshire, which may have influenced the spelling of their name. One notable member was William Grisham, born in 1642, who served as a captain in the English Civil War and fought for the Parliamentarian forces.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, several Grishams made their mark in various fields. Among them was Benjamin Grisham (1717-1789), a renowned clockmaker from Gloucestershire, and John Grisham (1808-1878), a prominent architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grisham

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!