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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Dutch and German : patronymic from a vernacular form of Latin Gratianus, a derivative of Gratius, itself a derivative of gratus ‘pleasing’, ‘lovely’. St. Gratian (died c. 337) was a disciple of St. Denis of Paris; he became the first bishop of Tours.
  • German : variant spelling of Gresenz, from the medieval personal name Crescentius (Latin crescens ‘growing’).

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