2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Grizer
A surname likely derived from the German word "grieser" meaning gravel worker or quarry worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Grizer. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grizer 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Grizer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grizer, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grizer
The surname GRIZER is believed to have originated in the region of modern-day Germany during the medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the old Germanic word "gris" meaning "gray" or "old," which may have been used as a descriptive surname for someone with gray hair or an elderly person.
One of the earliest known records of the name GRIZER can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. This suggests that the name may have been in use among German-speaking communities as early as the 1200s.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Hans GRIZER was mentioned in the chronicles of the city of Nuremberg, where he was recorded as a respected merchant and member of the city's guild of traders. This provides evidence of the name's presence in urban centers during the late medieval period.
During the 16th century, the GRIZER surname appeared in various church records and tax rolls throughout the German states. One such example is Johann GRIZER, born in 1521 in the town of Erfurt, who was documented as a farmer and landowner.
As the centuries progressed, the GRIZER name spread across different regions of Europe, with variants in spelling emerging, such as GRYSER, GRIZER, and GRIESER. In the 18th century, a prominent figure named Friedrich GRIZER (1732-1801) was a noted scholar and professor of theology at the University of Leipzig.
Another notable individual bearing the GRIZER surname was Karl GRIZER (1819-1888), a German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. His works, including "Die Grundlagen der Ethik" (The Foundations of Ethics), were influential in academic circles of the time.
While the GRIZER surname may have originated in Germany, it has since been carried by individuals across various parts of the world, likely due to migration and the diaspora of German-speaking populations over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grizer
Among Census respondents with the surname Grizer, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Grizer 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 Grizer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 92
- Two or more races7.6% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grizer
Grizer appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,457 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 1,457 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 Grizer 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 | #151,532 | #152,989 | -1.0% |
| Count | 108 | 105 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grizer bearers went from 108 to 105 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 1,457 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #152,989.
FAQ
Grizer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grizer?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Grizer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Grizer?
Grizer ranks #152,989 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 105 people with the surname Grizer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Grizer.
Has Grizer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grizer went from 108 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Grizer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grizer, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Grizer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grizer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Two or More Races (7.6%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Grizer (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 Grizer mean?
A surname likely derived from the German word "grieser" meaning gravel worker or quarry worker. 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 Grizer (0.04 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 have the last name Grizer?
See how many people have the surname Grizer on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.