2000
#8,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,587
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Brann
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Braoin," meaning "descendant of Braon" (a byname meaning "sorrow").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,689 Americans carry the last name Brann. That puts it at #9,651 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,913 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brann surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Brann with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 92,913
Census rank
#9,651
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,217 bearers of the surname Brann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9651st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brann, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brann
The surname Brann has its origins in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "bran," which means "brown" or "dark-colored." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone with dark hair or a swarthy complexion.
The earliest recorded instances of the Brann surname can be found in medieval German records and documents, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Otto Brann, a landowner mentioned in a deed from the town of Bamberg in 1187.
In the 13th century, the Brann name appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony. This suggests that the name had spread from its Bavarian roots and was becoming more widespread across German-speaking areas.
During the 15th century, a notable figure named Hans Brann was a respected scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Leipzig. He was born in 1428 and passed away in 1495, leaving behind a legacy of academic works on theology and philosophy.
Another prominent individual with the Brann surname was Johann Brann, a German composer and organist who lived from 1673 to 1738. He was known for his contributions to the development of German Baroque music and his compositions for the organ.
In the 19th century, the Brann name gained recognition through the work of Marcus Brann, a German-Jewish historian and scholar who specialized in the study of Jewish culture and history. He was born in 1849 and died in 1920, leaving behind a significant body of research and writings on Jewish history and literature.
As the Brann surname spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world through immigration. For example, in the United States, there are records of individuals with the Brann surname arriving from Germany and settling in various regions, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast, during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the Brann surname may have originated from a descriptive term related to physical appearance, it has since become a respected and well-established name with a rich history spanning several centuries and crossing various cultural and geographical boundaries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brann
Among Census respondents with the surname Brann, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Brann bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Brann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 2,745
- Black or African American5.9% · 189
- Two or more races4.1% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 122
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brann
Brann appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,350
+763 bearers (+21.3%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Up 830 places
2020
#9,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,217
-1,133 bearers (-26.0%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 2,022 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,459 | 3,587 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,629 | 4,350 | 1.47 | +763 bearers (+21.3%) | Up 830 places |
| 2020 | #9,651 | 3,217 | 1.08 | -1,133 bearers (-26.0%) | Down 2,022 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Brann surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,629 | #9,651 | -26.5% |
| Count | 4,350 | 3,217 | -26.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.47 | 1.08 | -26.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brann bearers went from 4,350 to 3,217 (-26.0% change). The surname moved down 2,022 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,629 to #9,651.
FAQ
Brann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brann?
Name Census estimates that about 3,689 living Americans carry the surname Brann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,913 residents.
How common is Brann?
Brann ranks #9,651 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,217 people with the surname Brann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,689), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Brann.
Has Brann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brann went from 4,350 recorded bearers to 3,217. That is a decrease of 1,133 (-26.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,629 to #9,651.
What does the Census say about the background of Brann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brann, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Brann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (2,745 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Black (5.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Brann (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Brann mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Braoin," meaning "descendant of Braon" (a byname meaning "sorrow"). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Brann (1.08 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Brann?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Brann? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.