2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gromling
A German habitational surname derived from a place name, likely referring to a hamlet or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Gromling. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gromling 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Gromling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gromling, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gromling
The surname GROMLING is of German origin, originating in the early medieval period around the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "grom," which meant "green" or "verdant," and the suffix "-ling," which indicated a descendant or someone associated with the root word.
The name is thought to have originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps. It was likely used to describe someone who lived in a lush, green area or worked as a forester or woodsman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GROMLING can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of medieval documents from the Principality of Anhalt in central Germany, dating back to the 13th century. There, a certain "Heinrich Gromling" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1285.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various municipal records and tax rolls across southern Germany, such as the Nürnberger Bürgerbuch (Nuremberg Citizen Book) from 1349, which lists a "Kunz Gromling" as a resident of the city.
One notable historical figure bearing the name GROMLING was Johann Gromling (c. 1510-1572), a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who served as a pastor in the city of Heilbronn. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several influential theological works.
Another individual of note was Caspar Gromling (1619-1673), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Leipzig. He published numerous treatises on Roman law and legal theory, and his works were widely studied throughout Europe.
In the 18th century, the name GROMLING can be found in various church records and census documents in the regions of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. One such example is Johann Friedrich Gromling (1723-1805), a German pastor and author who served in the town of Pforzheim and wrote several religious texts.
Another notable figure was Carl Friedrich Gromling (1784-1860), a German mathematician and astronomer who worked as a professor at the University of Heidelberg. He made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and geodesy, and his work was instrumental in the development of modern surveying techniques.
In the 19th century, the name GROMLING spread beyond Germany, with individuals bearing the surname emigrating to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Hans Gromling (1822-1901), a German-American businessman and entrepreneur who founded a successful brewing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gromling
Among Census respondents with the surname Gromling, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gromling 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 Gromling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.1% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gromling
Gromling 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-15 bearers (-12.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 25,318 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,677 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.8%) | Down 25,318 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 3,677 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 Gromling 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 | #158,432 | #154,755 | 2.3% |
| Count | 102 | 102 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gromling bearers went from 102 to 102 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 3,677 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #154,755.
FAQ
Gromling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gromling?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Gromling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Gromling?
Gromling ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Gromling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gromling.
Has Gromling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gromling went from 102 recorded bearers to 102. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Gromling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gromling, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Gromling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gromling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Gromling (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 Gromling mean?
A German habitational surname derived from a place name, likely referring to a hamlet or village. 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 Gromling (0.03 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 Gromling?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Gromling, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.