Greene
A spelling of Green meaning someone who lived by a village green or other grassy open space.
The #241 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,448 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Greene is an older spelling of Green, formed from Middle English and Old English words for a green or grassy open place. In surname use, it most often meant a person who lived near the village green, common pasture, or another open grassy spot. Some bearers may also reflect the adjective 'green,' but the place-based sense is the standard explanation in early surname dictionaries.
History
This spelling appears in English records alongside Green and is treated by older surname writers as essentially the same name. It was established early in England and later spread widely in Britain and the English-speaking world. The extra final -e is mainly an older spelling convention rather than a separate surname with a different meaning.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
'Green' was such a common surname that many families used the spelling Greene interchangeably in older records.
From the historical record
“Domesday. GREENE. See Green. GREENER. From residence at a green. GREENFIELD, A Lincolnshire hamlet. Also a corruption of Grenville or Granville. GREENGOOSE See Graygoose. GREENIIILL. A liberty in co. Lin- coln.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Greene
- Graham Greene (1904–1991)
- Ashley Greene (b. 1987)
- Brian Greene (b. 1963)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.