Family name origins & meanings
- Americanized form of German Grünemeier or Grön(e)meier (see Gronemeyer), a compound name from Middle High German grüene ‘green’, ‘fresh’ or Middle Low German grōne + Middle High German meier ‘(tenant) farmer’, probably, in the early period of surname formation, denoting a farmer whose land was in a woodland clearing. In later formations, the first element, taken from a place name or topographic feature, may have been added to distinguish the bearer from other bearers of the common surname Meyer.