2000
#9,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,184
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Breuer
An occupational surname referring to a brewer or beer maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,665 Americans carry the last name Breuer. That puts it at #7,820 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,474 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Breuer 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 Breuer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 73,474
Census rank
#7,820
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,068 bearers of the surname Breuer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7820th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Breuer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Breuer
The surname Breuer originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the German word "brauhaus," which means "brewhouse" or "brewery." This suggests that the name was initially associated with individuals who worked in the brewing industry or lived near a brewery.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Breuer can be found in the 14th century, where a person named Johannes Breuer was mentioned in a document from the city of Cologne in 1367. This suggests that the name was already in use during the medieval period.
The name Breuer is also closely linked to the city of Brewer, which is located in the state of Maine in the United States. This city was named after a German immigrant named John Brewer, who settled in the area in the 18th century. It is possible that the Breuer surname may have been influenced or even derived from the place name Brewer.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Breuer. One of the most prominent was Marcel Breuer (1902-1981), a Hungarian-born American architect and furniture designer who was a pioneer of modern architecture and a master of the International Style. His works include the UNESCO World Heritage site in Chandigarh, India, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.
Another notable figure was Josef Breuer (1842-1925), an Austrian physician who pioneered the use of hypnosis in psychoanalysis and worked closely with Sigmund Freud. His work with the patient Anna O. led to the development of the concept of "talking cure," which became a cornerstone of psychoanalytic therapy.
In the literary world, the name Breuer is associated with the German writer and poet Rolf Dieter Brinkmann (1940-1975), whose full name was Rolf Dieter Brinkmann-Breuer. He was a prominent figure in the German avant-garde literary scene and is known for his experimental prose and poetry.
Other notable individuals with the surname Breuer include Moritz Breuer (1868-1945), a German mathematician and pioneer in the field of algebraic geometry, and Michael Breuer (born 1950), a German journalist and political scientist known for his work on terrorism and security issues.
The name Breuer has a rich history spanning centuries, with its origins rooted in the brewing industry and connections to various regions and cultures. While the name may have evolved and taken on different meanings over time, it remains a distinctive surname with a unique heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Breuer
Among Census respondents with the surname Breuer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Breuer 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 Breuer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 3,820
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 101
- Two or more races2.1% · 85
- Black or African American0.8% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Breuer
Breuer 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
#7,992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,138
+954 bearers (+30.0%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Up 1,392 places
2020
#7,820
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,068
-70 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Up 172 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,384 | 3,184 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,992 | 4,138 | 1.40 | +954 bearers (+30.0%) | Up 1,392 places |
| 2020 | #7,820 | 4,068 | 1.36 | -70 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 172 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 Breuer 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 | #7,992 | #7,820 | 2.2% |
| Count | 4,138 | 4,068 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.36 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Breuer bearers went from 4,138 to 4,068 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 172 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,992 to #7,820.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Breuer
FAQ
Breuer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Breuer?
Name Census estimates that about 4,665 living Americans carry the surname Breuer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,474 residents.
How common is Breuer?
Breuer ranks #7,820 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 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 4,068 people with the surname Breuer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,665), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 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 Breuer.
Has Breuer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Breuer went from 4,138 recorded bearers to 4,068. That is a decrease of 70 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,992 to #7,820.
What does the Census say about the background of Breuer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Breuer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Breuer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (3,820 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Breuer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Breuer (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 Breuer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a brewer or beer maker. 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 Breuer (1.36 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 people have the last name Breuer?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Breuer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.