Explore the Family Name Grimes
The meaning of Grimes
1. English: variant of Grim, with post-medieval excrescent -s. 2. Irish: adopted occasionally in Ireland for Gormley and even Houlihan.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Grimes in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Grimes has seen a slight decline over the last decade. In 2000, the surname was ranked 626th in the United States, with approximately 49,245 people bearing this name. By 2010, however, it had dropped to the 686th spot, even though the count of individuals with this surname saw a marginal increase of 2.03% to about 50,245. The proportion of the surname per 100,000 people also declined from 18.25 to 17.03.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #626 | #686 | -9.58% |
| Count | 49,245 | 50,245 | 2.03% |
| Proportion per 100k | 18.25 | 17.03 | -6.68% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Grimes
In terms of ethnicity, data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the majority of individuals with the Grimes surname identify as White, although there was a slight decrease from 77.42% in 2000 to 74.91% in 2010. The proportions of those identifying as Black and of two or more races have shown an increase during the same period. The percentage of individuals identifying as Black rose by 5.29%, from 18.51% to 19.49%. Similarly, the proportion of those identifying as having two or more ethnicities increased by 36.25%, from 1.60% to 2.18%. Notably, representation from Hispanic origins saw the most significant increase, jumping by 52.17% from 1.61% to 2.45%. Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities also showed modest increases.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 77.42% | 74.91% | -3.24% |
| Black | 18.51% | 19.49% | 5.29% |
| Hispanic | 1.61% | 2.45% | 52.17% |
| Two or More Races | 1.6% | 2.18% | 36.25% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.56% | 0.58% | 3.57% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.39% | 30% |
Grimes ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Grimes is British & Irish, which comprises 55.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (22.7%) and Eastern European (4.0%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Nigerian, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 55.7% |
| French & German | 22.7% |
| Eastern European | 4.0% |
| Other | 17.6% |
Possible origins of the surname Grimes
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Grimes have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 86.30% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 86.10% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 86.00% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 86.00% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 85.90% |
What Grimes haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Grimes is J-CTS5368, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-CTS5368 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and I-Z138, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Cooper, Walker, Thompson, Ford, Morris, Graham, Patterson, Jones, Lewis, Thomson.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Grimes surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages
Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Grimes have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Grimes" Surname 40.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Grimes" Surname 25.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Grimes" Surname 24.4%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Cat Allergy
An allergic reaction to cats, characterized by symptoms such as sneezing, itching, and difficulty breathing.
"Grimes" Surname 37.3%
23andMe Users 36.7%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Grimes?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Grimes are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition