Grafton
A locational surname meaning “from Grafton,” originally denoting someone who came from one of several English places of that name.
The #9,535 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,568 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Grafton is a place-name surname taken from various English villages called Grafton. The name is generally understood as coming from Old English elements meaning something like “grove” or “copse” plus “farmstead” or “settlement,” though the exact first element can vary by place. As a surname, it simply identified a person by origin: “of Grafton.”
History
The name appears in medieval records with forms such as de Grafton, showing its use as a locative byname in England. Later it spread as a hereditary surname, and one famous modern bearer is the Duke of Grafton, whose title comes from Grafton-Everle(s) in Northamptonshire. Because several English parishes share the name, the surname can have multiple local starting points.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The 18th-century Dukes of Grafton took their title from Grafton-Everle in Northamptonshire, helping keep the place-name visible far beyond the village itself.
From the historical record
“GRAFTER. Of trees ? GRAFTON. Parishes and places in cos. Chester, Glouccstei-, Hereford, Oxford, Worcester, Warwick, and Northampton. It is from Grafton-Ecgis in the last-named CO. that the Duke of Grafton takes his title. GRANTHAM. A town in Lincoln- sliirc. GRAPES. An Innkeeper's sign.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom