Grooms
A surname that most likely began as an occupational name for a groom or servant working with horses or in a noble household.
The #3,267 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,953 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Grooms is the plural-looking form of Groom, a word that in medieval English referred to a servant, stable hand, or attendant, especially one who looked after horses. The surname therefore most likely started as an occupational byname for someone employed as a groom or manservant. In some families, the final -s may simply be an English surname ending meaning “son of” or “belonging to,” though in many cases it may have been added later as part of family usage.
History
The word groom was common in medieval and early modern England, so surnames formed from it could arise independently in more than one place. Historical records often show grooms in noble or royal households, which fits the occupational sense well. The surname Grooms is less common than Groom, and may represent a regional or later spelling variant that became hereditary in its own right.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The historical excerpts you provided use “grooms” mainly in the old phrase “grooms of the bedchamber,” which shows how closely the word was tied to court service.
From the historical record
“" But if th' ungentle brood of Envy's grooms Misdoom my pains ; no force — they do theii" kind ; And I'll do mine, which is to scorn their dooms, That use unkindly a kind-willing mind." John Gidllim,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom