NameCensus.

UK surname

Groat

A nickname referring to someone of large or impressive stature, from the old English word for "great."

In the 1881 census there were 348 people recorded with the Groat surname, ranking it #8,791 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 332, ranked #13,706, down from #8,791 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to South Ronaldsay and Burray, Wick and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Isles, West Kirkwall and Lerwick South.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Groat is 363 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 4.6%.

1881 census count

348

Ranked #8,791

Modern count

332

2016, ranked #13,706

Peak year

1891

363 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Groat had 348 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,791 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 332 in 2016, ranked #13,706.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 363 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Groat surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Groat surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Groat 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 332 #7,031
1861 historical 282 #8,895
1881 historical 348 #8,791
1891 historical 363 #9,556
1901 historical 362 #10,173
1911 historical 35 #29,478
1997 modern 318 #13,024
1998 modern 335 #12,915
1999 modern 341 #12,851
2000 modern 358 #12,356
2001 modern 349 #12,392
2002 modern 347 #12,699
2003 modern 324 #13,135
2004 modern 322 #13,260
2005 modern 317 #13,323
2006 modern 324 #13,183
2007 modern 326 #13,260
2008 modern 333 #13,175
2009 modern 332 #13,458
2010 modern 322 #14,034
2011 modern 316 #14,092
2012 modern 308 #14,259
2013 modern 320 #14,104
2014 modern 323 #14,081
2015 modern 318 #14,155
2016 modern 332 #13,706

Geography

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Where Groats are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around South Ronaldsay and Burray, Wick, Edinburgh, Westray and Papa Westray and Thurso. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Isles, West Kirkwall, Lerwick South, Lerwick North and Banchory-Devenick and Findon. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 South Ronaldsay and Burray Orkney
2 Wick Caithness
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Westray and Papa Westray Orkney
5 Thurso Caithness

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Isles Orkney Islands
2 West Kirkwall Orkney Islands
3 Lerwick South Shetland Islands
4 Lerwick North Shetland Islands
5 Banchory-Devenick and Findon Aberdeenshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Groat

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Groat

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Groat, 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 Groat surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Groat 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, Groat 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

Groat 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

Groat falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Groat is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

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

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Groat

The surname GROAT is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "groat," which referred to a medieval coin worth four pence. This connection suggests that the name may have been an occupational name for someone who worked as a moneylender or banker.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the GROAT name can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Walter le Grot was listed as residing in Oxfordshire. Another early record comes from the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, which mentioned a John Groat.

The GROAT surname is also linked to the village of John o' Groat's in Caithness, Scotland. According to legend, a Dutchman named John Groat settled in the area in the late 16th century and built an octagonal house to accommodate his family and prevent arguments over the head of the table. This story, while unverified, has contributed to the fame of the GROAT name in that region.

Notable individuals with the GROAT surname include Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), an English merchant and financier who founded the Royal Exchange in London. Another prominent figure was John Grosvenor (1565-1645), an English lawyer and politician who served as the Recorder of Chester.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded GROAT families can be traced back to Nicholas Groat, who immigrated from England to New Amsterdam (present-day New York) in the 17th century. His descendants played a role in the American Revolutionary War, with several serving in the Continental Army.

Other notable GROAT individuals include Sir John Gresham Groat (1819-1896), a British diplomat and author, and James Groat (1839-1917), an American politician who served as the Mayor of Buffalo, New York, in the late 19th century.

Throughout history, variations in the spelling of the GROAT surname have included Grote, Groate, Grot, and Grott, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic influences of different areas where the name was present.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Groat families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Groat 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. Orkney leads with 162 Groats recorded in 1881 and an index of 436.30x.

County Total Index
Orkney 162 436.30x
Caithness 78 168.79x
Middlesex 18 0.53x
Inverness-shire 15 14.88x
Midlothian 14 3.10x
Aberdeenshire 10 3.20x
Angus 8 2.56x
Yorkshire 8 0.24x
Lanarkshire 7 0.64x
Kent 6 0.52x
Durham 4 0.40x
Hampshire 4 0.58x
Northumberland 4 0.80x
Cheshire 2 0.27x
Worcestershire 2 0.45x
Lancashire 1 0.03x
Staffordshire 1 0.09x
Surrey 1 0.06x
Sussex 1 0.18x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Westray Papa Westray in Orkney leads with 53 Groats recorded in 1881 and an index of 1802.72x.

Place Total Index
Westray Papa Westray 53 1802.72x
Wick 51 341.59x
Walls Flotta 46 2643.68x
Stronsay Eday 19 781.89x
South Ronaldshay 17 442.71x
Inverness 14 55.23x
Kirkwall St Ola 11 197.84x
Thurso 10 138.70x
Canisbay 7 231.02x
Liff Benvie 7 14.75x
Shapinshay 7 619.47x
North Leith 6 28.68x
St Pancras London 6 2.21x
Glasgow 5 2.58x
Mile End Old Town London 5 6.96x
Newhills 5 78.13x
St Andrews Deerness 5 256.41x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 4 6.84x
Holy Trinity 4 4.97x
Watten 4 246.91x
Woolwich 4 9.40x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 3 1.65x
Hambledon 3 128.76x
Inveresk 3 24.51x
North Shields 3 29.94x
Olrig 3 129.87x
Southcoates 3 16.16x
Westoe 3 5.27x
Willesden 3 9.43x
Bower 2 107.53x
Deptford St Paul 2 2.25x
Liscard 2 14.90x
Stromness 2 71.68x
Westminster St James 2 5.76x
Barony 1 0.36x
Barrow In Furness 1 1.84x
Bishopwearmouth 1 1.16x
Bow London 1 2.33x
Caterham 1 13.76x
Dundee 1 0.86x
Dunnet 1 53.76x
Edinburgh St Marys 1 11.38x
Ellerton Priory 1 303.03x
Gorbals 1 15.43x
Heddon On Wall 1 163.93x
Heene 1 102.04x
Hoy Graemsay 1 142.86x
Kensington London 1 0.53x
Kiltarlity 1 40.49x
Martley 1 79.37x
New Deer 1 17.67x
Portsea 1 0.74x
Rock 1 56.82x
Sandwick 1 71.94x
South Leith 1 1.97x
Stoke Upon Trent 1 0.83x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 3
Elizabeth 2
Ellen 2
Emma 2
Jane 2
Jessie 2
Sarah 2
Alice 1
Ann 1
Emily 1
Frances 1
Isabel 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 6
James 4
Henry 3
John 3
Thomas 3
Nathan 2
Edward 1
Frederick 1
George 1
Percy 1
Sampson 1
Wallace 1
Walter 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Groat surname: questions and answers

How common was the Groat surname in 1881?

In 1881, 348 people were recorded with the Groat surname. That placed it at #8,791 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Groat surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 332 in 2016. That gives Groat a modern rank of #13,706.

What does the Groat surname mean?

A nickname referring to someone of large or impressive stature, from the old English word for "great."

What does the Groat map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Groat 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.