Groom
A surname from an attendant or servant, especially one in charge of horses, chambers, or a household office.
The #6,623 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,373 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Groom began as a job title for an attendant or servant. In Middle English it could refer broadly to someone who had charge of horses, chambers, clothing, or other household duties; some dictionaries also connect it with Dutch grom, meaning an attendant. The surname is therefore generally occupational, arising from a man known by his service role rather than from a personal nickname.
History
The word was used in medieval England for several kinds of attendants, and that occupational sense naturally became hereditary as surnames stabilized. Historical records also show related forms such as Groome and, in older documents, translated or parallel forms like Goodgroom and Bowergroom. The name survives as a modestly common English-language surname, especially in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old records show that "groom" could be applied to several specific kinds of attendants, including a groom of the chamber and a bower-groom.
From the historical record
“nally descended from Sir Tudor ap Grouow, who lived temp. Edw, III. GROOM. GROOME. "One who at- tends, observes, takes or has the care or custody of anything, whether of horses, chambers, garment, bride, &c." Richard- son. Dutch grom, an attendant. GROOMBRIDGE. A chapelry in Kent. GROOT. Originally De Groot, (that…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom