Grim
A surname from an old Norse personal name meaning “fierce” or “stern,” later also used as a nickname.
The #4,771 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,621 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Grim is generally traced to an old personal name, especially the Old Norse Grímr, which was understood as “grim,” “fierce,” or “stern.” In English records it could function both as a given name and as a nickname-like byname, and later surnames such as Grimes or Grimson developed from it. Some writers also connect it with Old English or general Germanic usage, but the Scandinavian explanation is the strongest and most commonly cited.
History
The name appears in early medieval Scandinavian and northern English naming, and it left a strong trace in place-names such as Grimsby, Grimston, and Grimshaw. In later centuries the surname spread through the British Isles in several related forms, including Grimes and Grimson. Because it originated as a personal name, it belongs to the large class of surnames formed from an ancestor’s given name rather than from an occupation or location.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same old name shows up in a surprising number of English place-names, especially in the north and east of England.
From the historical record
“may be the attenuated representative of the Scand. pers. names O'Sgrim or AvIS- grim and Ottaring {-ing, 'son' suff.); although Otringemele implies as second element the O.N. meW, 'a stretch of sand'] ORRET (Eng.) Warrior, Champion [O.E.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)