This interesting name is a dialectal variant derivation from either the German "Grunwalde or Grunwald" or the Swedish "Grounval", the translation being "the dweller in green forest". There are over one hundred medieval Germanic surnames commencing with the prefix "Grun" or the later "Gron", (green) all are askenazic and replace original hebrew etymology or were names "imposed" by the authorities to ensure easy identification. These "topographical" surnames include examples such as Grunbaum (Greentree), Grinberg (green hill), Gruengras (Greengrass) Grunwald, Grunwall, and Grinvald (all green forest). Examples of the early name recording include John Gronval, christened on December 28th 1721, at Vendez, Sweden, whilst on October 26th 1776, Henrich Grunwalde married Anna Lucrmann at Drechen, West Phalia. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Appolonia Gruenwalde, which was dated January 29th 1539, christened at Basel, Switzerland, during the reign of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, 1519 - 1558. 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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