Greene Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Greene last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Greene last name
Meaning of the Greene last name: dweller by the village green. Greene is an English surname for someone who lived by the village green, the common grassy land at the heart of a settlement. The final -e is an old spelling. Novelist Graham Greene and General Nathanael Greene made this last name familiar on both sides of the Atlantic.
Arms associated with the Greene name
Heraldry associated with the Greene surname uses a few strong colours, and each coat of arms has its own blazon.
Get your full Greene family history
This is only a glimpse of the Greene story. The full Greene history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Greene coat of arms. Get the full Greene report.
Greene name FAQ
What does the Greene name mean?
Dweller by the village green. Common variants include Green, Grene.
Where does the Greene surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Is there a Greene coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Greene coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).