GRIMES
Grimes is a surname with a multifaceted etymology, drawing on Gaelic, English, and Norse‑Viking roots. The name has been documented from the early medieval period, and it remains common in Ireland and across the United Kingdom today.
In its Gaelic form the surname originates from the word gruaim, which translates as “surly” or “gloomy”. It is thought that a person whose demeanour was serious or stern was given this nickname, and over time the epithet evolved into a hereditary surname. The Gaelic derivation is therefore linked with character traits rather than geography.
English records show the name in several variants, including Grim, Grimm, Grime and Grimes. The earliest etymological source is Norse‑Viking, dating before the 7th century. The personal name Grimr, preserved as Grim in Old Danish and Old Swedish, was common in areas of England that were influenced by Scandinavian settlement, especially the north-western and eastern counties. The Norse word is equivalent to the Old English grima, meaning “mask”, and was among the names attributed to the god Woden. Consequently the name may have been used to convey the qualities of a “masked person” or a “shape‑changer”, and it was sometimes bestowed upon male children to invoke the god’s protection. A parallel derivation from the Old English grim, meaning “fierce”, is evident in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls entry for Peter le Grim of Sussex.
Early documentary evidence of the surname is plentiful. The name first appears in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1170 under the spelling Godwin Grim. In 1552 a Salisbury resident is recorded as Ellis Grymes in London, and in 1640 a Katherine Grimes is listed as the spouse of Thomas Burchill in Frodsham, Cheshire. These instances demonstrate that the surname was already firmly established in England by the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. The plural forms of the surname are patronymic, meaning “son of Grim”.
Contemporary bearers of the surname primarily reside in Ireland and the United Kingdom, with genealogical records confirming a long tradition of the name within these regions. Its persistence reflects the cultural interweaving of Gaelic, English, and Norse‑Viking linguistic influences that have shaped the history of the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Grimes surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Stephen
Female
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Janet
- Julie
- Linda
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Grimes in...
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There are approximately 8,022 people named Grimes in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,175th most common surname in Britain. Around 123 in a million people in Britain are named Grimes.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Grimes
- Chelcee Grimes - Singer-songwriter and football player
- Matt Grimes - Football player
- Luke Grimes - American actor
- Ged Grimes - Musician
- Edith Woodford-Grimes - An English Wiccan who achieved notoriety as one of the faith's earliest known adherents (1887 to 1975)
- Paul Grimes - Criminal
- W. F. Grimes - Archaeologist (1905 to 1988)
- Carol Grimes - Singer
- Stuart Grimes - Scottish rugby union player
- Ashley Grimes - Football player
- Stephen B. Grimes - Production designer, art director (1927 to 1988)
- Vince Grimes - Football player
- Christine Grimes -
- Jamie Grimes - Football player
- Charles Grimes - -Australia colonial surveyor (1772 to 1858)
- George Grimes - (1835 to 1910)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.