Grow
Likely a nickname or descriptive surname for someone associated with growth, greenness, or vigorous growth, though the exact origin is not firmly established from the excerpts.
The #6,474 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 58,854 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The provided historical sources do not give a direct entry for Grow, so its origin remains uncertain. As an English surname, it may have developed from a nickname or descriptive word related to growing, increase, or something that grows well, but that is only a cautious inference rather than a documented derivation in these excerpts. It could also reflect a shortened or altered form of another surname.
History
The excerpts only show Grow as a recorded surname in historical registers, not as an explained dictionary headword. Because there is no clear etymological discussion here, its early history and spread cannot be stated confidently from the supplied sources. The name is uncommon in the modern United States, with a small but established bearer count.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname appears in historical records as far back as at least the late medieval/early modern period, but its explanation has not survived clearly in the cited surname dictionaries.
From the historical record
“HoUlngdale.— Local, 'of the dale where the hollies grow'; v. Hollins and Hollingworth (a). London, i; Philodelphi*, I. HoUingrake, HoUlDgdrake. — Local, ' of the bollin-rigg,' the”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances