2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gronefeld
A habitational surname indicating someone from the Gronefeld region or settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Gronefeld. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gronefeld 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Gronefeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gronefeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gronefeld
The surname Gronefeld originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German words "grün" meaning green and "feld" meaning field, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone living near a green field or meadow.
One of the earliest known references to the name Gronefeld can be found in the records of the city of Hamburg, where a merchant named Hans Gronefeld is mentioned in a trade document from 1572. This suggests that the name was already well-established in northern Germany by that time.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and tax rolls across different regions of Germany, indicating that the family had spread throughout the country. For instance, a Jakob Gronefeld is listed as a landowner in the village of Wiesbaden in 1629.
The 18th century saw the emergence of several notable individuals bearing the Gronefeld name. One such person was Johann Friedrich Gronefeld, a renowned composer and organist who lived from 1715 to 1796. His works were widely performed and admired throughout Europe during his lifetime.
Another prominent figure was Katharina Gronefeld, a pioneering educator who established one of the first schools for girls in the city of Berlin in 1782. Her efforts paved the way for improved educational opportunities for women in Prussia.
In the 19th century, the Gronefeld name continued to be associated with various professions and achievements. One example is Wilhelm Gronefeld, a celebrated botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the German states. He was born in 1826 and lived until 1897.
The 20th century saw the Gronefeld name spread even further as families migrated to other parts of the world. One notable individual from this period was Hans Gronefeld, a German-American artist and sculptor who lived from 1892 to 1977. His works were exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the United States.
It is worth noting that variations of the spelling, such as Groenfeld, Grünfeld, and Gronefelt, have also been documented throughout history, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and orthography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gronefeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Gronefeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gronefeld 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 Gronefeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 114
- Black or African American2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gronefeld
Gronefeld 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+6 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,334 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-5 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,195 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 3,334 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 7,195 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 Gronefeld 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 | #135,593 | #142,788 | -5.3% |
| Count | 124 | 119 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gronefeld bearers went from 124 to 119 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 7,195 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #142,788.
FAQ
Gronefeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gronefeld?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Gronefeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Gronefeld?
Gronefeld ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Gronefeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Gronefeld.
Has Gronefeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gronefeld went from 124 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Gronefeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gronefeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Gronefeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gronefeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Black (2.5%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Gronefeld (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 Gronefeld mean?
A habitational surname indicating someone from the Gronefeld region or settlement. 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 Gronefeld (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 Americans have the surname Gronefeld?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.