Contents [hide]

Grainger History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Grainger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Grainger surname comes from the Anglo-Norman French word "grainger," from the Late Latin "granicarius." It was an occupational name for a farm bailiff, responsible for overseeing the collection of farm rents. In Scotland, the monks who farmed the old abbeys frequently called their farm operations "The Grange." They housed cattle and stored grain at the grange, and around the farmstead was generally a cluster numerous cottages for the laborers and their families. The monk or lay brother in charge was known as "the granger."

Early Origins of the Grainger family

The surname Grainger was first found in Norfolk, where the first on record was William le grangier, in circa 1100. Other early instances of the name include Reginald le Granger listed in the Feet of Fines Suffolk in 1219; and Walter le Graunger in the Assize Rolls of Bedfordshire of 1247.

Early History of the Grainger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grainger research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1189, 1200, 1296, 1303, 1723 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Grainger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grainger Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Grainger, Granger and others.

Early Notables of the Grainger family

More information is included under the topic Early Grainger Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grainger Ranking

In the United States, the name Grainger is the 10,074^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Grainger is ranked the 742^nd most popular surname with an estimated 9,022 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Grainger family to Ireland

Some of the Grainger family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grainger migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Grainger Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Grainger, who settled in Virginia in 1639
Hen Grainger, who landed in Virginia in 1639 3
William Grainger, who arrived in Maryland in 1651 3
Edward Grainger, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 3
Elizabeth Grainger who settled in America in 1694

Grainger Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Grainger, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1772
John Grainger, who arrived in New York in 1796 3

Grainger migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Grainger Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Thomas Grainger, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Grainger migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Grainger Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Grainger, British Convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for life for felony, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. John Grainger, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Chapman" on 6th April 1824, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. William Grainger, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Dunvegan Castle" on 13th March 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Joseph Grainger, British Convict who was convicted in Stafford, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 5th November 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land)1836 7
Thomas Grainger, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fama" in 1841 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Grainger migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Grainger Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Grainger, aged 31, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Shamrock" in 1855
Hannah Grainger, aged 29, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Shamrock" in 1855
Mary A. Grainger, aged under 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Shamrock" in 1855
C. D. Grainger, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Wyvern" in 1856
Mr. Matthew B. Grainger, (b. 1838), aged 25, British farrier travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Brothers Pride" arriving in Lyttelton, South Island, New Zealand on 8th December 1863 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Grainger migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Grainger Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mary Grainger, who settled in Jamaica in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Grainger (post 1700) +

Charles E. Grainger (1937-2022), American politician, Member of the Alabama House of Representatives (1970-1974)
Chris Grainger (b. 1971), American music producer and songwriter
Rufus Grainger, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Suffield, 1829 11
Jesse W. Grainger, American Democratic Party politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives from Lenoir County, 1885-86; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1896 11
F. Reed Grainger, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1944 11
Charles F. Grainger (1854-1923), American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, 1901-05; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kentucky, 1904 11
Colin Grainger (1933-2022), English former international footballer, singer and recording artist from Havercroft, West Riding of Yorkshire
Richard Dugard Grainger (1801-1865), English anatomist and physiologist, younger son of Edward Grainger, surgeon, born in Birmingham 12
Richard Grainger (1798-1861), English architect in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, son of a quay porter in that town 12
Martin Grainger (b. 1972), English football player from Enfield, England
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Grainger family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Robert Grainger, English Waiter from Liverpool, England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 13

Senghenydd colliery

Mr. Walter Grainger (b. 1891), Welsh coal miner from Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 26th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/chapman
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dunvegan-castle
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1835
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FAMA 1841. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1841Fama.gif
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 10) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/