2000
#14,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,866
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Groat
A nickname referring to someone of large or impressive stature, from the old English word for "great."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,953 Americans carry the last name Groat. That puts it at #16,390 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 175,501 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Groat 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 Groat with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 175,501
Census rank
#16,390
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,703 bearers of the surname Groat in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16390th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Groat, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Groat
The surname GROAT is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "groat," which referred to a medieval coin worth four pence. This connection suggests that the name may have been an occupational name for someone who worked as a moneylender or banker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GROAT name can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Walter le Grot was listed as residing in Oxfordshire. Another early record comes from the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, which mentioned a John Groat.
The GROAT surname is also linked to the village of John o' Groat's in Caithness, Scotland. According to legend, a Dutchman named John Groat settled in the area in the late 16th century and built an octagonal house to accommodate his family and prevent arguments over the head of the table. This story, while unverified, has contributed to the fame of the GROAT name in that region.
Notable individuals with the GROAT surname include Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), an English merchant and financier who founded the Royal Exchange in London. Another prominent figure was John Grosvenor (1565-1645), an English lawyer and politician who served as the Recorder of Chester.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded GROAT families can be traced back to Nicholas Groat, who immigrated from England to New Amsterdam (present-day New York) in the 17th century. His descendants played a role in the American Revolutionary War, with several serving in the Continental Army.
Other notable GROAT individuals include Sir John Gresham Groat (1819-1896), a British diplomat and author, and James Groat (1839-1917), an American politician who served as the Mayor of Buffalo, New York, in the late 19th century.
Throughout history, variations in the spelling of the GROAT surname have included Grote, Groate, Grot, and Grott, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic influences of different areas where the name was present.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Groat
Among Census respondents with the surname Groat, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Groat 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 Groat surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 1,552
- Two or more races4.1% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Groat
Groat 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
#14,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,006
+140 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 172 places
2020
#16,390
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,703
-303 bearers (-15.1%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 1,596 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,622 | 1,866 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,794 | 2,006 | 0.68 | +140 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 172 places |
| 2020 | #16,390 | 1,703 | 0.57 | -303 bearers (-15.1%) | Down 1,596 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 Groat 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 | #14,794 | #16,390 | -10.8% |
| Count | 2,006 | 1,703 | -15.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.57 | -16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Groat bearers went from 2,006 to 1,703 (-15.1% change). The surname moved down 1,596 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,794 to #16,390.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Groat
FAQ
Groat surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Groat?
Name Census estimates that about 1,953 living Americans carry the surname Groat. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 175,501 residents.
How common is Groat?
Groat ranks #16,390 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,703 people with the surname Groat. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,953), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Groat.
Has Groat become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Groat went from 2,006 recorded bearers to 1,703. That is a decrease of 303 (-15.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,794 to #16,390.
What does the Census say about the background of Groat?
Among Census respondents with the surname Groat, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Groat in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (1,552 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Groat appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Groat (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 Groat mean?
A nickname referring to someone of large or impressive stature, from the old English word for "great." 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 Groat (0.57 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 Groat?
Want to know how many people have the last name Groat? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.