What does the surname Grant mean ?
What does the surname Grant mean ?
The origin of this surname may be traced back to a nickname. ‘le grand,’ vast, enormous. A nickname given to a person who has large and wide dimensions and is considered to be a giant in stature. The use of this surname is quite widespread in Scotland.
Where do the Grant family come from?
The origin of this surname may be traced back to a nickname. ‘le grand,’ vast, enormous. A nickname given to a person who has large and wide dimensions and is considered to be a giant in stature. The use of this surname is quite widespread in Scotland.
How common is the surname Grant?
According to Forebears, the name Grant is used by more than 156,000 individuals, making it the most common surname in the United States. However, it is also the most popular surname in Jamaica (where it ranks as the 10th most common surname) and Scotland (ranked 29th).
Genealogy of the Grant Family Name
Scotland. Since the possible middle of the 12th century, members of the clan Grant have had property in the Scottish Highlands in the region of Strathspey, specifically at Stratherrick, which is located to the east of Loch Ness. They were able to obtain their landholdings in the 14th century because to the assistance they provided for Robert the Bruce. Their stronghold, Grant Castle in Strathpey, as well as Ballindalloch Castle, the ancestral house of the MacPherson Grants, are both still standing today.
The Grants were not wiped out by the upheavals that plagued the Highlands in the 18th century as were some of the other clans. During the Jacobite uprisings, many Grants sided with the English, despite the fact that they had previously backed the Lowland Covenanters (although some did take the other side).
Clan Grant was one of the few clans who survived the Highland clearances unscathed. Grantown-on-Spey was established by a man who called himself “Good Sir James” Grant with the intention of establishing a textile industry in northern Scotland and halting the migration of his relatives to other countries. There were some Grants who moved away or left the family. In spite of this, at the close of the 19th century, the Highlands of Scotland were home to more than half of the country’s remaining grant estates.
The Grants of Rothiemurchus still own their properties in the area surrounding Aviemore, and other lines of the family still own land in Strathpey. Duncan Grant, a painter associated with the Bloomsbury group, descended from the Rothiemurchus Grants, whereas Hugh Grant, an actor, descended from the Glenmoriston Grants.