The Grimes surname was originally an Old Danish and Old Swedish term of ‘grim’ and then the Old English term of ‘grima’ which all represent a masked person or someone who is fierce. Variations in spelling Grimes include Grime, Grimm and Grim. In England the Grimes surname is principally in Lancashire, Norfolk, city of London, Yorkshire, Essex, Hampshire and Warwickshire counties. In Scotland the Grimes name is in Lanarkshire and Angus. Within the United States individuals with the Grimes surname are chiefly found in New York, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, California and Maryland. Famous: Bryan Grimes, Jr. (Civil War Confederate Major General), Gary Grimes (actor), Burleigh Grimes (professional baseball player), Lloyd ‘Tiny’ Grimes (jazz musician), Oscar Ray Grimes (professional baseball player of the 1920s), Karolyn Grimes (film actress), Martha Grimes (writer of detective fiction novels), Connor Grimes (field hockey player in the Olympics from Canada) and Charles Grimes (19th century surveyor for mapping colonial Australia).