2000
#3,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,640
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.94
Uncommon Last name
Grooms
An occupational surname referring to a person who cares for horses, particularly as a bridegroom or stablehand.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,988 Americans carry the last name Grooms. That puts it at #3,352 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 28,591 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grooms 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Grooms with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 28,591
Census rank
#3,352
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,454 bearers of the surname Grooms in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3352nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grooms, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grooms
The surname Grooms is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "groma" or "groom," meaning a servant or attendant, particularly one who tended to horses. This occupational surname emerged in the 13th century and was initially given to those employed as grooms or stable workers.
The name is believed to have originated in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire, where many early records of the surname can be found. Variations in spelling include Grome, Groome, and Grome, reflecting the evolving nature of surnames in medieval times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, which mentions a John le Grom. The Grooms surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, indicating its presence in the region during that period.
Notably, the name is found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Robert le Grom in Gloucestershire. This entry provides evidence of the surname's antiquity and its connection to the groom occupation.
Among notable individuals bearing the surname Grooms throughout history are:
1. Thomas Grooms (1600-1680), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Steyning during the 17th century.
2. John Grooms (1670-1735), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist from Bristol, England, who funded the construction of several almshouses and a school.
3. William Grooms (1756-1834), an English engraver and printmaker known for his landscape etchings and engravings of historic buildings.
4. James Grooms (1795-1868), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Virginia from 1835 to 1841.
5. Sarah Grooms (1847-1905), a British social reformer and activist who campaigned for women's rights and education.
While the surname Grooms originated from an occupational background, it has since been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including landowners, merchants, artists, politicians, and social reformers, reflecting the diverse experiences and contributions of those bearing this historic English name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grooms
Among Census respondents with the surname Grooms, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Grooms 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 Grooms surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.4% · 7,783
- Black or African American16.3% · 1,706
- Two or more races5.1% · 534
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 258
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 126
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grooms
Grooms 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
#3,267
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,045
+405 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 3.74
Rank movement Down 149 places
2020
#3,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,454
-591 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 3.50
Rank movement Down 85 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,118 | 10,640 | 3.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,267 | 11,045 | 3.74 | +405 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 149 places |
| 2020 | #3,352 | 10,454 | 3.50 | -591 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 85 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 Grooms 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 | #3,267 | #3,352 | -2.6% |
| Count | 11,045 | 10,454 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.74 | 3.50 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grooms bearers went from 11,045 to 10,454 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 85 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,267 to #3,352.
FAQ
Grooms surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grooms?
Name Census estimates that about 11,988 living Americans carry the surname Grooms. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 28,591 residents.
How common is Grooms?
Grooms ranks #3,352 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,454 people with the surname Grooms. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,988), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Grooms.
Has Grooms become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grooms went from 11,045 recorded bearers to 10,454. That is a decrease of 591 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,267 to #3,352.
What does the Census say about the background of Grooms?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grooms, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Grooms in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.4% (7,783 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grooms appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.4%), Black (16.3%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Grooms (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 Grooms mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who cares for horses, particularly as a bridegroom or stablehand. 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 Grooms (3.50 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 Grooms?
Want to know how common the surname Grooms is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.