This rare and interesting surname is a patronymic of Grinwald, which is of German origin, and is either from an ornamental name, or from a compound name, both derived from the German "grun", from the Old High German "gruoni", green , and the German "wald", from the Old High German "wald", a wood, originally meaning a forest or woodland; hence "green forest". Ornamental names of this kind consist of two elements arbitrarily joined together, often without consideration of logic or possibility. Other ornamental surnames using the first element "green" include: Grunhaus and Grinhaus (green house); Grunstein and Grinstein (green stone). The surname development in Germany since 1682 (see below) includes the following: Anna Grinwaldt, christened at Fraueburg, Ostpreussen, on December 27th 1733; and Franciscus Grinvald, christened at Gross Rautenberg, Ostpreussen, on October 1st 1809. The christening was recorded of Andreas, son of Petrus Grinvald and Dorothea Schultz, on September 3rd 1815, at Gross Rautenberg, Ostpreussen. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Michael Grinwaldt, which was dated May 24th 1682, marriage to Eva Frank, at Mudau, Mosbach, Baden, Germany, during the reign of Leopold 1, Holy Roman Emperor, 1658 - 1705. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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