Grisham
A name most likely from an older place-name or a lost local form, rather than a clear occupational or descriptive nickname.
The #5,148 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,417 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Grisham is most likely an English surname built from a place-name, probably from a small settlement or farm name now obscure or altered. The ending -ham is a common Old English element meaning "homestead" or "village," while the first element is less certain and may preserve an older personal name or local feature. Because no early documentary form is available here, the exact original meaning remains uncertain.
History
The surname is established mainly in English-speaking countries and is especially familiar in the United States today. In many cases, names of this type were carried by families whose original village-name either disappeared, shifted in spelling, or was simplified after migration. The modern spelling may also reflect regional pronunciation and later standardization rather than a single fixed medieval form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is best known in modern times through the novelist John Grisham, whose family name helped make the spelling widely recognizable.
Notable people named Grisham
- John Grisham (b. 1955)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.