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Greville History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Sources

Greville History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Etymology of Greville

What does the name Greville mean?

Greville is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Greville family lived in the place named Grenneville in the barony of St. Denis de Gaste, Normandy. 1

Another source claims the family originated at Griuil, or Greville, a castle on Cotentin. 2

The family name Greville was brought to England after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror gave his friends and relatives most of the land formerly owned by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats. The Normans frequently used the name of their estate in Normandy as part of their name. The surname Greville was established by Norman landholders in the county of Buckinghamshire.

Early Origins of the Greville family

The surname Greville was first found in Buckinghamshire where they held a family seat soon after the Norman Conquest. They are believed to be from Grenneville in the barony of St. Denis de Gaste in the Cotentin in Normandy.

Accompanying the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066 the family, father William and son Robert, became under-tenants of the Giffards in Buckinghamshire. Richard, son of Robert, married Isabel, daughter and heiress of Gautier Giffard, Earl of Buckingham, thus inheriting the title which would later become the Duke of Buckingham. Although the Harleian Society claims there is no relationship to the west country Grevilles in Gloucester, a branch which emerged about 1250, we find this most unlikely.

The similarity of the Coat of Arms of each of these families is more than conclusive evidence that the Grevilles of Gloucester were directly related to the Grenvilles of Buckinghamshire, although it must be admitted there was a noble family of Lagravol or Greville in Montfaucon-du-Velay in Forez also emerging in the 13th century.

"They were seated at Drayton in Oxfordshire (the adjoining county to Bucks) which Leland calls " the veri ancient house of the Gravilles": and their ancestor, John Greville (or Grenville) appears to be the same who is mentioned by Collins as of Wotton in 1308, and whose father John, son of John de Grenville, was living in 1305." 2

Early History of the Greville family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greville research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1250, 1267, 1554, 1607, 1628, 1643, 1658, 1677, 1699, 1701, 1705 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Greville History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greville Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Greville are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Greville include Greville, Grevill, Graville, Gravill, Gravell, Gravelle, Gravel, Grevil, Grevile, Gravile and many more.

Early Notables of the Greville family

Sir Fulke Greville first Lord Brooke (1554-1628), English poet, only son of Sir Fulke Greville, by Ann, daughter of Ralph Neville, earl of Westmorland, was born at the family seat, Beauchamp Court, Wa...
Sir Edward Greville of Milcote
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke (1607-1643), an English Civil War Roundhead General, the cousin and adopted son of Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, owner of Warwick Castle, Parliament for Warwicksh...
Francis Greville (died 1658), 3rd Baron Brooke (1643-1658), the eldest son and heir of Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke
Algernon Greville (c.1677-1720), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Warwick (1699-1701) and (1701-1705.)

Greville migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Greville, or a variant listed above:

Greville Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Kate Greville, aged 28, who settled in America, in 1893
William Greville, aged 24, who landed in America from Enfield, in 1896

Greville Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William Greville, aged 30, who settled in America from Summerhill, in 1902
Algernon Eden Greville, aged 20, who landed in America from London, England, in 1904
Frances E. Greville, aged 45, who landed in America from Easton Dunnon, England, in 1907
Margaret Greville, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1909
Olive Greville, aged 30, who immigrated to America from London, England, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Greville migration to Canada +

Greville Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Chalonner Greville, aged 34, who settled in Fort William, Canada, in 1920
Edward Greville, aged 8, who immigrated to Fort William, Canada, in 1920
Robert Greville, aged 3, who immigrated to Fort William, Canada, in 1920
Eloine Greville, who landed in Hull, Canada, in 1923

Greville migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet

Mr. David Greville, British settler convicted in Middlesex, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Active" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 3

Following the Second Fleet, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Greville Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. David Greville, (1751 - 1839), aged 54, British settler who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing money, transported aboard the "Fortune And Alexander" on 31st December 1805, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Charles Greville, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Midlothian" in 1850 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Greville (post 1700) +

Thomas Nall Eden Greville (1910-1998), American Mathematician, instructor at the University of Michigan
Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville (1794-1865), English administrator, best known as a diarist, eldest son of Charles Greville, grandson to the fifth Lord Warwick, by his wife, Lady Charlotte Cavendish Bentinck 6
Algernon Frederick Greville (1798-1864), English private secretary to the Duke of Wellington, born on 29 Jan. 1798, second son of Charles Greville (1762-1832), fifth son of Fulke Greville of Wilbury, Wiltshire, by his marriage with Lady Charlotte Bentinck 7
Dr. Robert Kaye Greville LLD (1794-1866), English mycologist, bryologist, and botanist
Henry Greville (1801-1872), English diplomat
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Fulke Greville FRS, MP (1751-1824), British politician and courtier, Member of Parliament for Warwick (1774-1780), and for New Windsor (1796-1800)
Handel Greville (1921-2014), Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played for the Wales National Team in 1947
Brigadier Phillip Jamieson Greville, Australian Director of Transport, Australian Army
Julia Greville (b. 1979), Australian, Olympic medal winning swimmer
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MIDLOTHIAN 1850. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Midlothian.gif
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020