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’).