Grau
A surname usually linked to the German word for “gray,” originally a nickname for someone with gray hair, a gray beard, or a grayish appearance.
The #6,353 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,548 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally connected with German grau, meaning “gray.” In older Germanic naming practice, this kind of word often became a nickname for a person noted for gray hair, a gray beard, or a gray complexion, and then passed into hereditary surname use. Some 19th-century surname scholars also related it to very old German forms such as Grao or Grawo, but the basic sense remains “gray.”
History
The surname appears in German-speaking areas and was later carried into other countries through migration. Some historical surname collections also place it alongside related forms such as Gray, Grew, and Grawo, reflecting the same color-based nickname tradition. In modern usage it is found especially in German and German-descended family lines, and also in parts of the Spanish-speaking world where Grau is an established surname form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname studies, Grau is often grouped with a whole family of “gray” surnames across Europe, showing how common color-nicknames were as the basis for family names.
From the historical record
“Grougar Groth Grau Graw Graddie Guire Gubbon Guffog”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom