Grace
Usually a surname that grew from a nickname or from the French/Gascon form of “Gros/Le Gras,” meaning “big” or “stout.”
The #1,248 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,988 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is often explained as coming from the Old French nickname Le Gras or Gros, meaning “the fat one,” “stout,” or more generally “large.” One historical tradition in Ireland links a prominent Grace family to Raymond Fitz-William de Carew, surnamed Crassus, Le Gros, and Le Gras, whose byname was said to have evolved into Grace. In England, the name may also sometimes reflect the same nickname source rather than the modern word grace.
History
Lower records a medieval Anglo-Norman bearer whose byname Gr os/Gras was said to develop into Grace in Ireland, giving the surname a strong Hiberno-Norman association. The name is also found more broadly in Britain, where it can arise independently as a nickname surname. Its similarity to the English word grace can make it look gentler than its older nickname origin suggests.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The famous “Grace” family of Ireland was traditionally linked to a Norman knight whose nickname meant “the stout” rather than “graceful.”
From the historical record
“GRABBY. A corruption of Groby, or some similar local name. GRACE. Raymond Fitz-William de Carew, surnamed ' Crassus,' 'Le Gros,' and ' Lc Gras,' accompanied Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in his celebrated expedi- tion into Ireland in 1 IGO, and he may be re- garded "as the Achilles of the enterprise." He married…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom