The Griswold surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,417 people carried this name — #3,427 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,300 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (10,396).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Griswold surname

An English habitational surname from Middle English from gris (“grey (from French, i.e., the language of the Royal Court after 1066”) + wold (“forest, e.g. “Yorkshire Wolds”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Griswold» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

205 families named Griswold, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,172 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 128
New York 32
Vermont 21
Massachusetts 13
New Hampshire 8
Pennsylvania 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 243 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Griswold in American newspapers,
1910.

Newspaper page from The Wibaux Pioneer carrying the name Griswold
The Wibaux Pioneer 1910-04-07
Newspaper page from The Wibaux Pioneer carrying the name Griswold
The Wibaux Pioneer 1910-05-26
Newspaper page from The Wibaux Pioneer carrying the name Griswold
The Wibaux Pioneer 1910-06-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 186,709 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Griswold in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

623 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Griswold. The most, 193, date from the 1940s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 209
Victoria 123
Queensland 95
South Australia 81
Western Australia 55
Tasmania 29
ACT (Canberra) 18
Northern Territory 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Griswold.

Who carried it

People named Griswold,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Wolcott Noble Griswold
    Wolcott Noble Griswold d. 1906 · physician
  • Roger Griswold
    Roger Griswold 1762–1812 · judge
  • Alexander Viets Griswold
    Alexander Viets Griswold 1766–1843 · Christian minister
  • Allen Griswold d. 1998
  • Francis Griswold 1629–1671
  • Hannah Griswold 1642–1714

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Griswold,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,074 records

1,074 records of the Griswold name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 375
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 213
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 196
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 190
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 46
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 36
  • Sacramento County historic burials 9
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Scott Craig Griswold

    Born 1947; from San Jose, California. U.S. Army, helicopter pilot; killed in action 1969 in Pleiku, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eldredge E. Griswold

    Born 1918 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Morris Field Charlotte; bookkeeper. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1973, buried at Andersonville National Cemetery, Georgia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane A. Griswold

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the Java from Liverpool, aged 50; matron. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,074 records for Griswold in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada122 records

122 records of the Griswold name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 114
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Alfred Griswold

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 28; buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record George Frederick Griswold

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Pauline Griswold

    Died 1932 in Millview, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 122 records for Griswold in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Griswold name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Horace Holt Griswold

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Stewart Campell Griswold

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Griswold.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Griswold is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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