GRIESE (Low German) 1. Nickname for a grey-haired man. Cognate of the English "GRICE" which comes from Middle English "grice, gris" (grey) (Old French "gris", apparently of Germanic origin, and probably a distant cognate of "Gray". 2. Occupational name for a swineherd or nickname meaning 'pig', from Middle English "grice, grise" (pig). Source: A Dictionary of Surnames by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges. I don't know how to pronounce most German words, but the possibility exists (in MY mind, anyway) that the final -e- may have been sounded in some manner and came out sounding like "Greaser" to the non-German speaking listener. Barbara Dee wrote: > I have an ancestor who is from Hanover, Germany that went by the name > of Griese and also Greaser. > > Further down the line, my ancestor went by the name of Grey. Actually > it was Mary Martha Greaser Grey. > > Somewhere I have heard that Griese was German for Grey; however, I > have found out today that "grey" is "grau." > > Can you give any reason why Griese and Greaser, might have been > changed to Grey for this family. > > Thanks so much. > > Dee. > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB