How common is the surname Griffith?

78,260 people in the United States had the surname Griffith in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,945 Americans. It ranked 414th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Griffith?

D. W. Griffith, American filmmaker (1875–1948), followed by Melanie Griffith.

Where is the surname Griffith most common?

Wikidata records people named Griffith in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Griffith?

Griffith is /ˈɡɹɪ.fɪθ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Griffith getting more or less common?

More common. 77,429 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 78,260 in 2010, up 1.1%.

Is Griffith also a first name?

Yes. Griffith is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Griffith

A Welsh patronymic surname, carried by 78,260 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈɡɹɪ.fɪθ/ 2 syllables Soundex G613 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Griffith is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

Welsh origin

Anglicized from Welsh Gruffudd.

Griffith is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 60 Welsh surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 78,260 people named Griffith in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,945 Americans. That is up 1.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 77,429.

#414

rank among US surnames

78,260

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+1.1%

change since 2000 (was #369)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#405	Sharp	78,990	3,909
#406	Barber	78,848	3,916
#407	Bowen	78,822	3,917
#408	Ochoa	78,677	3,924
#409	Dennis	78,482	3,934
#410	Robbins	78,381	3,939
#411	Liu	78,370	3,940

Who is named Griffith

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

84% of people named Griffith identified as white (not Hispanic), 10% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 10%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Griffiths

34 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

D. W. Griffith
American filmmaker (1875–1948)
Melanie Griffith
American actress, born 1957
Florence Griffith Joyner
American track and field athlete (1959-1998)
Andy Griffith
American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer (1926–2012)
Corinne Griffith
American actress, film producer, author (1894–1979)
Frederick Griffith
British bacteriologist, 1877–1941
Emile Griffith
American boxer (1938–2013)
Thomas Ian Griffith
American actor, screenwriter, producer, musician, and martial artist (born 1960)
Yolanda Griffith
American basketball player (born 1970)
Nanci Griffith
American singer-songwriter (1953-2021)
Nicola Griffith
British-American writer (b. 1960)
Gordon Griffith
American actor and film producer (1907–1958)

Notable Griffiths come mostly from the United States (23), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (4) and the United Kingdom (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Griffith

Griffith has the Soundex code G613, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G613.

Other Welsh surnames

All 60 Welsh surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Griffith come from?: Anglicized from Welsh Gruffudd.
How common is the surname Griffith?: 78,260 people in the United States had the surname Griffith in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,945 Americans. It ranked 414th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Griffith?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Griffith identified as white (not Hispanic), and 10% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Griffith?: D. W. Griffith, American filmmaker (1875–1948), followed by Melanie Griffith.
Where is the surname Griffith most common?: Wikidata records people named Griffith in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Griffith?: Griffith is /ˈɡɹɪ.fɪθ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Griffith?: Griffith is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Griffith getting more or less common?: More common. 77,429 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 78,260 in 2010, up 1.1%.
Is Griffith also a first name?: Yes. Griffith is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.