How common is the surname Graves?

84,179 people in the United States had the surname Graves in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,668 Americans. It ranked 371st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Graves?

Peter Graves, American actor (1926-2010), followed by Michael Graves.

Where is the surname Graves most common?

Wikidata records people named Graves in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Graves getting more or less common?

More common. 82,179 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 84,179 in 2010, up 2.4%.

The surname Graves

A surname, carried by 84,179 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex G612

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Graves is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

An English surname from Middle English derived from Grave.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 84,179 people named Graves in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,668 Americans. That is up 2.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 82,179.

#371

rank among US surnames

84,179

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.4%

change since 2000 (was #340)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#362	Hale	86,618	3,564
#363	Leon	86,363	3,575
#364	Hail	86,240	3,580
#365	Benson	86,081	3,587
#366	Haynes	85,974	3,591
#367	Horton	85,195	3,624
#368	Miles	84,942	3,635

Who is named Graves

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

70% of people named Graves identified as white (not Hispanic), 24% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 70%
Black (not Hispanic) 24%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gravess

27 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Peter Graves
American actor (1926-2010)
Michael Graves
American architect and designer of consumer products (1934-2015)
Teresa Graves
American actress and singer (1948-2002)
Corey Graves
American professional wrestler, born 1984
Garret Graves
American politician (born 1972)
Edwin Graves
American rower (1897–1986)
Carie Graves
American rower (1953–2021)
Ralph Graves
American screenwriter and actor (1900–1977)
Laura Graves
American equestrian, born 1987
Alex Graves
American film director, television director, television producer and screenwriter, born 1965
Ruth Graves Wakefield
American chef (1903-1977)
Morris Graves
American expressionist painter (1910-2001)

Notable Gravess come mostly from the United States (24), Australia (2) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Graves

Graves has the Soundex code G612, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G612.

Questions

How common is the surname Graves?: 84,179 people in the United States had the surname Graves in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,668 Americans. It ranked 371st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Graves?: In the 2010 Census, 70% of people named Graves identified as white (not Hispanic), and 24% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Graves?: Peter Graves, American actor (1926-2010), followed by Michael Graves.
Where is the surname Graves most common?: Wikidata records people named Graves in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Is the surname Graves getting more or less common?: More common. 82,179 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 84,179 in 2010, up 2.4%.