The origin of the Grubb(s) occupational surname is a Germanic (Saxon) word referring to digging. There are about 20,000 persons named Grubbs and another 15,000 named Grubb in the U.S. Yet only a handful of well documented Grubbs immigrants from England and Germany define several American family trees. The English ancestry Grubbs tested so far are not related to the German ancestry Grubbs. In the UK and Ireland there are thousands of people named Grubb and a few named Grubbs. Many are interested in genealogy and belong to the UK based 'Grubb Family Association'. There are also Grubbs scattered over the globe. Most descendants of European colonists named Grubb or Grubbs cannot trace their ancestry back to Europe and it is unclear how these scattered clans might relate to the descendants of the known immigrants. Y-DNA testing could reconnect these families, apart for over three centuries in some cases. For this reason Grubb and Grubbs men anywhere in the world are encouraged to join.