Greenlaw Surname

127,074th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 3,572 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Greenlaw Surname Definition:

The name of an old family in Berwickshire, derived from their lands there. They may have been an offshoot from the Dunbars. William de Grenlawa, c. 1180 (Kelso, 333). An agreement between the abbot of Kelso and Roland de Grenelawe regarding the chapel was made c.

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Greenlaw Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,5641:141,36514,671
Canada6161:59,8147,051
Australia1411:191,45919,007
Scotland1251:42,8313,932
England861:647,88437,755
New Zealand181:251,57423,165
Wales51:618,90625,852
Northern Ireland41:461,25916,615
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Morocco11:34,476,099111,471
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland361:123,0527,230
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland1351:27,7282,454
England701:348,22022,196
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States6011:83,5598,731

Greenlaw Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

The name of an old family in Berwickshire, derived from their lands there. They may have been an offshoot from the Dunbars. William de Grenlawa, c. 1180 (Kelso, 333). An agreement between the abbot of Kelso and Roland de Grenelawe regarding the chapel was made c. 1200 (ibid., 145). Magister William de Grenlau, a churchman, witnessed a charter by Walter, bishop of Glasgow, c. 1208—18 (LCD., p. 230), and in 1221 was one of a number appointed to settle a dispute between the churches of Glasgow and Kelso (REG., 116), and c. 1221—31 witnessed the grant of the church of Lympetlaw to Kelso Abbey (Soltre, p. 25). In 1233 he witnessed resignation of the lands of Eduluestun to the church of Glasgow (REG., p. 140). William of Greenlaw, son of Roland, son of William, witnessed Melrose documents of 1236—37 (Melros, 298,274), and held lands in Hawington of Robert de Muschamp, part of which he gave to Melrose Abbey before 1247 (ES., II, p. 545n.), in which year he died (Chron. Mail., s.a.). Matheu de Grenlawe fiz William de Grenlawe of Berwickshire and William de Grenlawe of Edinburghshire rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, p. 206,198). William de Grenelawe was clerk to Sir John de Mowbray in 1306 (ibid., 1868), and in 1327 and following years there are records of payment of king's alms to Symon de Grenlaw (ER., I, p. 60, 90, etc.). William de Grenlaw was archdeacon of St. Andrews, 1361 (Cambus., 160). Gilbert de Grenlaw or Grynlaw, canon of Aberdeen, 1386, afterwards bishop of Aberdeen and chancellor of Scotland, died in 1422 (REA., I, p. xxxiv-vi, 172). Thomas Grenlaw, archdeacon, had a safe conduct in England, 1424 (Bain, IV, 943), Thomas de Grenelawe was bailie of the Temple, 1426 (Egidii, p. 48), Thomas de Grenlaw, vicar of Conveth, was made bergess of Aberdeen, 1439 (NSCM., I, p. 5). and Thomas Grenlaw was vicar of Erth, 1452 (Pollok, I, p. 172). Nicholas Grenlaw was rector of Eddilstoun, 1503 (Simon, 64). Grenelaw 1531, Greynlaw 1429, Grinlav 1447, Grinlaw 1484.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) Dweller at the Green Hill [Old English gréne + hlœw]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish) One who came from Greenlaw (verdant hill), the name of several places in Scotland.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A green hill.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

From Greenlaw co. Berwick. See Law.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Greenlaw Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Greenlaw Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Greenlaw occurs more in The United States more than any other country/territory. It may also be found as:. Click here for further possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Greenlaw? popularity and diffusion

It is the 127,074th most numerous family name internationally, held by approximately 1 in 2,040,186 people. Greenlaw occurs mostly in The Americas, where 80 percent of Greenlaw reside; 80 percent reside in North America and 80 percent reside in Anglo-North America.

The last name Greenlaw is most prevalent in The United States, where it is held by 2,564 people, or 1 in 141,365. In The United States it is primarily found in: Maine, where 18 percent are found, Massachusetts, where 11 percent are found and California, where 10 percent are found. Not including The United States this surname occurs in 20 countries. It is also found in Canada, where 17 percent are found and Australia, where 4 percent are found.

Greenlaw Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Greenlaw has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Greenlaw last name expanded 427 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it contracted 7 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it expanded 123 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 97 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Greenlaw Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the surname is principally Anglican (53%) in Ireland.

In The United States Greenlaw are 12.84% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than the national average, with 66.07% registered with the political party.

The amount Greenlaw earn in different countries varies marginally. In United States they earn 0.27% more than the national average, earning $43,267 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.01% less than the national average, earning $48,189 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Greenlaaw941/
Grenlaw931/
Greenlow88170/
Greenlaf880/
Greenleaf825,935/
Greenlaiv821/
Greenlafe820/
Grinlaw8029/
Grenlow801/
Greenleafe781/
Grenleaf751/
Greenleif710/
Gremleaf630/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Greenlaw
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis