NameCensus.

UK surname

Grassie

A surname derived from a location name, possibly referring to someone from a grassy area or meadow.

In the 1881 census there were 147 people recorded with the Grassie surname, ranking it #15,674 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 193, ranked #20,039, down from #15,674 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wyre, Monifieth East and Fernhill and Cathkin.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Grassie is 198 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 31.3%.

1881 census count

147

Ranked #15,674

Modern count

193

2016, ranked #20,039

Peak year

2013

198 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Grassie had 147 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,674 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 193 in 2016, ranked #20,039.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 147 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Grassie surname distribution map

The map shows where the Grassie surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Grassie surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Grassie over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 115 #15,634
1861 historical 113 #19,151
1881 historical 147 #15,674
1891 historical 138 #19,411
1901 historical 144 #18,505
1911 historical 31 #29,952
1997 modern 170 #19,505
1998 modern 172 #19,883
1999 modern 180 #19,454
2000 modern 190 #18,806
2001 modern 186 #18,773
2002 modern 184 #19,275
2003 modern 174 #19,760
2004 modern 182 #19,306
2005 modern 186 #18,985
2006 modern 180 #19,526
2007 modern 179 #19,811
2008 modern 183 #19,735
2009 modern 187 #19,868
2010 modern 190 #20,087
2011 modern 182 #20,495
2012 modern 183 #20,356
2013 modern 198 #19,657
2014 modern 196 #19,961
2015 modern 190 #20,272
2016 modern 193 #20,039

Geography

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Where Grassies are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry, Longside and Monymusk. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wyre, Monifieth East, Fernhill and Cathkin, Biggar, Symington, Thankerton and Dolphinton and Brighton and Hove. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Govan Combination Lanark
2 Edinburgh Edinburgh
3 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
4 Longside Aberdeen
5 Monymusk Aberdeen

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wyre 002 Wyre
2 Monifieth East Angus
3 Fernhill and Cathkin South Lanarkshire
4 Biggar, Symington, Thankerton and Dolphinton South Lanarkshire
5 Brighton and Hove 026 Brighton and Hove

Forenames

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First names often paired with Grassie

These lists show first names that appear often with the Grassie surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Grassie

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Grassie, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Grassie surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Grassie household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Grassie is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Grassie is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Grassie falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Grassie is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Grassie, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Grassie

The surname Grassie is of English origin, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "græs" meaning grass, and "ey" meaning an island or dry ground surrounded by wetlands. This suggests the name originally referred to someone who lived in a grassy area or meadow surrounded by marshes or waterways.

The earliest recorded instances of the Grassie name can be found in various tax rolls and manor records from the counties of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire in eastern England. One of the first documented examples is Robert de Grassey, who is listed in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273. The name also appears in the Cambridgeshire Subsidy Rolls of 1327 as John Grassy.

Variations in spelling were common during this period, and the name is found recorded as Grassie, Grassy, Grassey, and Grassaye among other forms. These variations likely reflect regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.

Although not included in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, the Grassie name may have derived from a now-lost or obscure place name in eastern England. Similar place names like Grassy Mere in Lincolnshire and Grassy Drain in Cambridgeshire suggest the name's locational origins.

Notable individuals bearing the Grassie surname include John Grassie (1582-1654), an English merchant and landowner in Lincolnshire, and William Grassie (1651-1723), a minister and author of religious texts in Cambridgeshire. Later records show Thomas Grassie (1789-1868) as a prominent farmer and landowner in Lincolnshire, while James Grassie (1816-1892) was a successful businessman and industrialist in Glasgow, Scotland.

In the 16th century, the Grassie name also appears in court records related to land disputes and legal proceedings, indicating the family's established presence in the region. Examples include Robert Grassie (1534-1609), involved in a land dispute in Lincolnshire, and Thomas Grassie (1572-1641), who participated in legal proceedings over property rights in Cambridgeshire.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Grassie families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Grassie surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Aberdeenshire leads with 77 Grassies recorded in 1881 and an index of 57.99x.

County Total Index
Aberdeenshire 77 57.99x
Angus 12 9.03x
Northumberland 8 3.75x
Surrey 7 1.00x
Fife 6 7.07x
Gloucestershire 6 2.13x
Morayshire 6 26.93x
Perthshire 5 7.77x
Stirlingshire 5 9.46x
Lanarkshire 4 0.86x
Dumfriesshire 2 6.32x
Kent 2 0.41x
Middlesex 2 0.14x
Midlothian 2 1.04x
Hampshire 1 0.34x
Lancashire 1 0.06x
Renfrewshire 1 0.90x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aberdeen Old Machar in Aberdeenshire leads with 51 Grassies recorded in 1881 and an index of 183.98x.

Place Total Index
Aberdeen Old Machar 51 183.98x
Longside 9 566.04x
Montrose 8 99.38x
Wallsend 8 118.17x
Cheltenham 6 27.65x
Turriff 6 280.37x
Elgin 5 115.47x
Falkirk 5 40.39x
Monymusk 5 877.19x
Muckhart 5 1666.67x
Camberwell 4 4.37x
Leslie 4 186.05x
Liff Benvie 4 19.84x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 3 12.08x
Govan 3 2.62x
Penge 3 32.75x
Beckenham 2 31.25x
Closeburn 2 270.27x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 2 2.59x
Leuchars 2 186.92x
Barony 1 0.85x
Boharm 1 172.41x
Broughton In Salford 1 6.43x
Holdenhurst 1 12.97x
Huntly 1 46.30x
Kensington London 1 1.25x
Limehouse London 1 6.35x
Methlick 1 94.34x
Tarves 1 79.37x
West Greenock 1 5.02x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Grassie surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Annie 1
Catherine 1
Chul 1
Clara 1
Eliza 1
Jessie 1
Kate 1
Lilley 1
M. 1
Maggie 1
Margrette 1
Mary 1
Maud 1
Mia 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Grassie surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Robert 2
William 2
Alexander 1
Angelo 1
Charles 1
David 1
Delisle 1
Frank 1
John 1
Marcus 1
Thomas 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Grassie households.

FAQ

Grassie surname: questions and answers

How common was the Grassie surname in 1881?

In 1881, 147 people were recorded with the Grassie surname. That placed it at #15,674 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Grassie surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 193 in 2016. That gives Grassie a modern rank of #20,039.

What does the Grassie surname mean?

A surname derived from a location name, possibly referring to someone from a grassy area or meadow.

What does the Grassie map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Grassie bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.