2000
#1,487
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,969
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.14
Uncommon Last name
Grove
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a grove of trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,694 Americans carry the last name Grove. That puts it at #1,701 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,466 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grove 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 Grove with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,466
Census rank
#1,701
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,662 bearers of the surname Grove in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1701st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grove, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grove
The surname Grove originated in England during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English word "graf," meaning a small grove or thicket of trees. The name likely originated as a descriptor for someone who lived near or worked in a small wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the surname Grove can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Richard de la Grove in the county of Essex. This indicates that the name was already well-established in parts of England by the late 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the surname Grove appeared in various spellings, such as Groves, Grave, and Greve, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. Many of these variations were likely influenced by the French language, which was widely used in England after the Norman Conquest.
One notable bearer of the surname was Sir Walter Grove (c. 1320-1392), a soldier and courtier who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He was knighted for his valor in the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and later became a member of the Order of the Garter.
Another significant figure was Matthew Grove (1638-1719), an English clergyman and philosopher who served as the rector of several parishes in Oxfordshire. He was known for his writings on metaphysics and his support for the Church of England during the turbulent times of the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, the Grove family established themselves as prominent landowners and industrialists in the West Midlands region of England. One member of this family, William Grove (1811-1896), was a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1880 to 1892.
The surname Grove also gained recognition in the field of science and technology. Sir William Robert Grove (1811-1896), a Welsh judge and scientist, is credited with the invention of the Grove voltaic cell, an early form of battery that played a crucial role in the development of electrochemistry.
Another notable figure was Andrew Grove (1936-2016), a Hungarian-American businessman and engineer who played a pivotal role in the development of the microprocessor industry. He served as the CEO of Intel Corporation from 1987 to 1998 and was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the technology sector.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grove
Among Census respondents with the surname Grove, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Grove 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 Grove surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 18,145
- Black or African American4.5% · 937
- Two or more races3.5% · 727
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 622
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 137
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 94
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grove
Grove 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
#1,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,732
-237 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 7.37
Rank movement Down 170 places
2020
#1,701
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,662
-1,070 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 6.91
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,487 | 21,969 | 8.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,657 | 21,732 | 7.37 | -237 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 170 places |
| 2020 | #1,701 | 20,662 | 6.91 | -1,070 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 44 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 Grove 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 | #1,657 | #1,701 | -2.7% |
| Count | 21,732 | 20,662 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 7.37 | 6.91 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grove bearers went from 21,732 to 20,662 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,657 to #1,701.
FAQ
Grove surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grove?
Name Census estimates that about 23,694 living Americans carry the surname Grove. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,466 residents.
How common is Grove?
Grove ranks #1,701 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,662 people with the surname Grove. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,694), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Grove.
Has Grove become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grove went from 21,732 recorded bearers to 20,662. That is a decrease of 1,070 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,657 to #1,701.
What does the Census say about the background of Grove?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grove, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Grove in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (18,145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grove appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Grove (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 Grove mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a grove of trees. 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 Grove (6.91 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 Grove?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Grove at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.