2000
#36,276
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 583
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.22
Very Rare Last name
Brener
A surname likely referring to someone from the town of Bren or Brenna.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 679 Americans carry the last name Brener. That puts it at #40,000 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 504,793 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brener 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 Brener with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
679
1 in 504,793
Census rank
#40,000
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
592
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 592 bearers of the surname Brener in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 40000th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brener, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Black (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brener
The surname Brener is believed to have originated in the Rhineland region of Germany during the Middle Ages, derived from the Low German word "brener," meaning "burner" or "one who burns." This name likely referred to an occupation, potentially a charcoal burner or someone who worked with fire or furnaces.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century, when a certain Heinrich Brener was mentioned in the records of the city of Cologne in 1271. The name also appears in various medieval manuscripts and documents from the Rhineland area, often with slight variations in spelling, such as Brenner or Brönner.
During the 14th century, the Brener surname began to spread beyond the Rhineland region as families migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring territories. In 1382, a man named Hans Brener was recorded as a resident of the town of Nuremberg in Bavaria.
Notable individuals with the surname Brener include Johannes Brener, a prominent merchant and civic leader in the city of Frankfurt am Main in the late 15th century. Another noteworthy figure was Konrad Brener, who lived in the early 16th century and was a respected scholar and theologian at the University of Heidelberg.
In the 17th century, the Brener family established itself in the region of Saxony, where a branch of the family adopted the variant spelling "Brehner." Johann Gottlieb Brehner, born in 1687, was a renowned clockmaker and inventor who developed innovative timepiece mechanisms.
Moving into the 18th century, the name Brener gained recognition in the arts, with Johann Friedrich Brener (1737-1801), a celebrated painter and engraver from Dresden, whose works were highly sought after by nobility and art collectors across Europe.
Throughout its history, the surname Brener has maintained a presence in various parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like Switzerland and Austria, where it may have been introduced through migration or intermarriage. While the name has evolved over time, its origins can be traced back to the occupation-based surnames of the German Middle Ages, representing a rich cultural and linguistic heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brener
Among Census respondents with the surname Brener, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Black (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Brener 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 Brener surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.3% · 493
- Hispanic or Latino10.3% · 61
- Black or African American4.1% · 24
- Two or more races1.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brener
Brener 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
#39,887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 550
-33 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Down 3,611 places
2020
#40,000
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 592
+42 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #36,276 | 583 | 0.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #39,887 | 550 | 0.19 | -33 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 3,611 places |
| 2020 | #40,000 | 592 | 0.20 | +42 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 113 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 Brener 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 | #39,887 | #40,000 | -0.3% |
| Count | 550 | 592 | 7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.20 | 4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brener bearers went from 550 to 592 (+7.6% change). The surname moved down 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #39,887 to #40,000.
FAQ
Brener surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brener?
Name Census estimates that about 679 living Americans carry the surname Brener. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 504,793 residents.
How common is Brener?
Brener ranks #40,000 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 592 people with the surname Brener. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (679), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Brener.
Has Brener become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brener went from 550 recorded bearers to 592. That is an increase of 42 (+7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #39,887 to #40,000.
What does the Census say about the background of Brener?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brener, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Black (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 Brener in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.3% (493 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brener appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.3%), Hispanic (10.3%), Black (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 Brener (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 Brener mean?
A surname likely referring to someone from the town of Bren or Brenna. 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 Brener (0.20 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 many Americans have the surname Brener?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.