2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gruer
A topographic surname referring to someone living near a grove or thicket.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Gruer. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gruer 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Gruer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gruer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gruer
The surname GRUER is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is likely derived from the Old English word "gruer," which means "a watchman" or "a guard." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been employed as watchmen or guards in a manor or castle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname GRUER can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, where a certain Richard le Gruer is mentioned in 1221. These rolls were essentially financial records maintained by the Exchequer of the English Crown, documenting payments made to the royal treasury.
The GRUER surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, dated 1327, where a William le Gruer is listed as a taxpayer. These rolls were created to record the collection of taxes imposed by the English government at the time.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname GRUER was John Gruer, a prominent merchant and landowner from Somerset, England. He was born around 1430 and is recorded as having owned substantial properties in the village of Huish Episcopi.
Another historical figure worth mentioning is Sir Thomas Gruer, who lived during the reign of King Henry VIII in the early 16th century. He was a member of the English gentry and served as a Justice of the Peace in Gloucestershire.
The GRUER surname has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Gruer's Green in Buckinghamshire and Gruer's Farm in Oxfordshire. These place names may have derived from individuals bearing the GRUER surname who owned or resided in those locations.
It is worth noting that the spelling of the surname has varied over time, with alternative spellings like Gruer, Gruyer, and Gruwer appearing in historical records. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in written records during the Middle Ages.
Some other notable individuals bearing the GRUER surname throughout history include:
1. William Gruer (1701-1772), an English merchant and philanthropist from Bristol.
2. Elizabeth Gruer (1790-1867), a British author and poet from Gloucestershire.
3. Sir Henry Gruer (1825-1903), a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland.
4. Admiral Charles Gruer (1855-1932), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5. Reverend John Gruer (1879-1958), an English clergyman and author who wrote several books on religious topics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gruer
Among Census respondents with the surname Gruer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gruer 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 Gruer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gruer
Gruer 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,994 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,193 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 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 14,994 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,193 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 Gruer 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 | #147,253 | #149,446 | -1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 110 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gruer bearers went from 112 to 110 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #149,446.
FAQ
Gruer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gruer?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Gruer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Gruer?
Gruer ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Gruer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Gruer.
Has Gruer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gruer went from 112 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Gruer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gruer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Gruer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gruer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Gruer (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 Gruer mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone living near a grove or thicket. 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 Gruer (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 people are called Gruer?
Want to know how many people have the surname Gruer? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.