Grote
A surname likely from Dutch or Low German groot, meaning “big” or “tall.”
The #7,807 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,817 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually explained as coming from Dutch groot or a related Low German form meaning “big” or “tall.” In English records it is also treated as a nickname surname, essentially the same idea as Great or Groot. Some writers have also linked it to Continental place-name forms, so a locational element may have contributed in a few cases.
History
Medieval records show the surname in England by the 13th century, and later sources note occurrences in Bedfordshire, Somerset, and London. The name also appears in Scottish materials and has been associated with Dutch or Continental influence, which fits the spelling and meaning. Because the forms Grote, Groot, Grout, and related variants overlap in old records, some individual family lines may have different origins.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century authority explicitly says Grote is probably just another form of Great, the nickname for a big or tall person.
From the historical record
“sometimes, absurdly, De Grosso Yenatore. GROTE. Perhaps Dutch groot, big of stature. See Groot. Grotc without prefix is in H.R. GROUCOCK. See Gregory. GROUSE. "Is certainly not from the bird, but from an old Germ, name Grauso, VI. cent., which Forstmaun refers to A-Sax. greosan, horrere." Ferguson. GROUT. The same…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom