2000
#4,768
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,796
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.52
Rare Last name
Grisham
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "homestead or village of a man called Gris."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,234 Americans carry the last name Grisham. That puts it at #5,332 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,381 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grisham 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
7.2K
1 in 47,381
Census rank
#5,332
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,308 bearers of the surname Grisham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5332nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grisham, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grisham
Among Census respondents with the surname Grisham, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Grisham 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 Grisham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 5,309
- Black or African American5.1% · 322
- Two or more races4.5% · 287
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 253
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grisham
Grisham 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
#5,148
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,798
+2 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 2.30
Rank movement Down 380 places
2020
#5,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,308
-490 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 2.11
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,768 | 6,796 | 2.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,148 | 6,798 | 2.30 | +2 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 380 places |
| 2020 | #5,332 | 6,308 | 2.11 | -490 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 184 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 Grisham 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 | #5,148 | #5,332 | -3.6% |
| Count | 6,798 | 6,308 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.30 | 2.11 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grisham bearers went from 6,798 to 6,308 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,148 to #5,332.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Grisham
FAQ
Grisham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grisham?
Name Census estimates that about 7,234 living Americans carry the surname Grisham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,381 residents.
How common is Grisham?
Grisham ranks #5,332 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,308 people with the surname Grisham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,234), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Grisham.
Has Grisham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grisham went from 6,798 recorded bearers to 6,308. That is a decrease of 490 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,148 to #5,332.
What does the Census say about the background of Grisham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grisham, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Grisham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (5,309 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grisham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Black (5.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Grisham (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 Grisham mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "homestead or village of a man called Gris." 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 Grisham (2.11 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 common is the surname Grisham?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Grisham, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.