Frequency: (491)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
English: of uncertain origin. It may be an occupational nickname for a miller, from the Middle English abstract noun grist ‘grinding’, Old English grist, a derivative of grindan (see Grinder). The word was not used in the concrete sense of grain to be ground until the 15th century.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
