Where Does the Grothe Surname Come From?

In old registers, Grothe often stands in for Groth. Name scholars give the meaning as “A Low German name for a big man”. Grothe adds “e” to Groth, a small change that appeared as the name was written down. Census takers and immigration officers often wrote what they heard. Other spellings include Grote, Grooth and Grot.

The Census Bureau's 2010 surname file lists Grothe with 1,800 bearers, at rank 16,087. It sits within the 25,000 most common last names in the country.

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Grothe, so the heraldry linked to Groth is a starting point, not an automatic right. Get the complete Grothe report, with a museum-style coat of arms.