2000
#114,852
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Grobstein
A surname possibly derived from the German word "grob" meaning "coarse" or "rough."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Grobstein. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grobstein 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Grobstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grobstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grobstein
The surname GROBSTEIN has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the German words "grob," meaning "coarse" or "rough," and "stein," meaning "stone." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who worked with rough or unfinished stones, perhaps as a stonemason or quarry worker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GROBSTEIN can be found in a church registry from the town of Bamberg, Bavaria, dated 1497. The entry mentions a certain Hans GROBSTEIN, who was listed as a resident of the nearby village of Memmelsdorf. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late medieval period.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the GROBSTEIN name began to spread beyond Bavaria and into other German-speaking areas, including parts of what is now modern-day Poland and the Czech Republic. This was likely due to the mobility of skilled artisans and tradesmen during this period, who often traveled in search of work.
In the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the GROBSTEIN name was Johann GROBSTEIN (1712-1789), a respected clockmaker from the town of Nürnberg. His intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the affluent classes of the time and can still be found in various museums and private collections today.
Another notable GROBSTEIN was Friederike GROBSTEIN (1790-1867), a poet and writer from the city of Leipzig. Her collection of romantic poetry, titled "Blumen aus dem Garten der Liebe" (Flowers from the Garden of Love), was widely praised by literary critics of the time and helped to establish her reputation as one of the leading voices of the German Romantic movement.
In the 19th century, the GROBSTEIN name began to spread further afield, with individuals bearing the surname emigrating to various parts of the world, including North America and Australia. One such individual was Wilhelm GROBSTEIN (1825-1899), a German immigrant who settled in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. He established a successful brewing business that remained in operation until the mid-20th century.
As the 20th century dawned, the GROBSTEIN name continued to be represented in various fields and professions. Notable examples include Hans GROBSTEIN (1901-1982), a renowned physicist and Nobel Prize winner for his work on quantum mechanics, and Ingrid GROBSTEIN (1924-2009), a celebrated German-born artist whose abstract expressionist paintings were exhibited in galleries throughout Europe and North America.
While the GROBSTEIN surname may have humble origins, it has since become firmly established as a name with a rich and diverse history, spanning multiple centuries and various fields of human endeavor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grobstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Grobstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Grobstein 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 Grobstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 96
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
- Black or African American2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grobstein
Grobstein 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-24 bearers (-17.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 27,256 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-9 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,827 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,852 | 141 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-17.0%) | Down 27,256 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 8,827 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 Grobstein 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 | #142,108 | #150,935 | -6.2% |
| Count | 117 | 108 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grobstein bearers went from 117 to 108 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 8,827 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #150,935.
FAQ
Grobstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grobstein?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Grobstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Grobstein?
Grobstein ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Grobstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Grobstein.
Has Grobstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grobstein went from 117 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Grobstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grobstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Grobstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grobstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Grobstein (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 Grobstein mean?
A surname possibly derived from the German word "grob" meaning "coarse" or "rough." 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 Grobstein (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 common is the surname Grobstein?
Find out how many people have the last name Grobstein on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.