2000
#112,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Grus
A surname of Polish origin, referring to a town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Grus. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grus 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Grus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grus, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grus
The surname Grus is believed to have originated from Poland in the late medieval period, derived from the Polish word "grus" meaning "crane." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with cranes or had some association with these birds.
The earliest recorded instances of the Grus surname can be traced back to the 15th century in various Polish records and manuscripts. One notable example is Jan Grus, a merchant from Krakow who was mentioned in a trade document dated 1472.
Variations of the spelling include Gruss, Grüs, and Gruszczynski, which may indicate different regional origins or branches of the same family line. There are also potential connections to place names like Gruszka, a village in southern Poland, which could have influenced the surname's formation.
In the 16th century, the Grus name appeared in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of historical records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This included entries for individuals such as Marcin Grus, a landowner from the Lublin region (born around 1520).
As the name spread beyond Poland, it can be found in other parts of Europe, notably in the German-speaking regions. One notable figure was Johann Grus (1554-1611), a German lawyer and legal scholar who published works on Roman law.
Another individual of note was Franciscus Grus (1623-1680), a Dutch philosopher and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Leiden. His writings on metaphysics and natural philosophy were influential during the 17th century.
In more recent times, the Grus surname has been associated with several notable scientists and academics. This includes Ernst Grus (1890-1965), an Austrian biologist known for his research on marine invertebrates, and Joachim Grus (1923-2002), a German physicist who made contributions to the study of solid-state physics.
While the surname Grus may have originated in Poland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, reflecting the migration patterns and histories of different families over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grus
Among Census respondents with the surname Grus, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Grus 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 Grus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grus
Grus 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
-22 bearers (-15.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,084 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,860 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #112,365 | 145 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-15.2%) | Down 24,084 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 4,860 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 Grus 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 | #136,449 | #141,309 | -3.6% |
| Count | 123 | 121 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grus bearers went from 123 to 121 (-1.6% change). The surname moved down 4,860 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #141,309.
FAQ
Grus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grus?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Grus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Grus?
Grus ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Grus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Grus.
Has Grus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grus went from 123 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Grus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grus, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Grus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (119 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Grus (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 Grus mean?
A surname of Polish origin, referring to a town 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 Grus (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 common is the surname Grus?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Grus at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.