Grove
A topographic surname for someone who lived by or near a grove of trees.
The #1,657 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,207 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Grove comes from Old English roots meaning a small wood, thicket, or grove of trees. In surname use, it usually identified someone who lived near such a place. Related forms such as Groves and Grover developed from the same place-name basis.
History
This was a fairly straightforward English topographic surname and was already explained that way in 19th-century surname dictionaries. Historical records cited by Lower include a John de Grove of Chalfont St. Giles in the 14th century, showing the surname in medieval England. The name later spread into several related forms, especially Groves and Grover.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it comes from an ordinary landscape word, Grove often arose independently in more than one place, not just from one single family line.
From the historical record
“GROUT. The same as Groot. GROVE. From the original bearer's residence near one. Hence also the common names Groves and Grover. Tlie Groves of Fern, co. Wilts, claim descent from John de Grove of Chalfont St. Giles, who died 26 Edward III. GROVER. See Grove. GROVES. See Grove. GROWSE See Grouse.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom