2000
#274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100,465
First available Census row
Per 100,000 37.24
Common Last name
Brewer
An occupational surname referring to someone who brews beer or ale.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 113,125 Americans carry the last name Brewer. That puts it at #313 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 33.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,030 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brewer 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 Brewer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
113K
1 in 3,030
Census rank
#313
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
33.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98,650 bearers of the surname Brewer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 33.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 313th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brewer, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brewer
The surname Brewer originated in England and has been used since the medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word 'brewere', meaning a person who brewed ale or beer for a living. The name first appeared in historical records in the late 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Brewer can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Dorset from 1195, where a Robert le Breuuere is mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time. Another early reference is found in the Curia Regis Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1212, which lists a William le Bruwere.
The Brewer surname is also recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, albeit under various spellings such as 'Breaur' and 'Bruuator'. This ancient document provides valuable insights into the distribution of the name across different regions of medieval England.
Several notable individuals have borne the Brewer surname throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir Thomas Brewer (c. 1490-1548), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. Another prominent figure was James Brewer (1667-1717), a British clergyman who became the Bishop of Gloucester in 1715.
In the literary world, John Brewer (1616-1667) was an English playwright and poet who wrote several plays, including The Lovesick Maid and The Lovesick Court. The name also has ties to the scientific community, with the astronomer John Brewer (1783-1862) who discovered several comets and asteroids.
Moving into the 20th century, one cannot overlook the contributions of Roy Brewer (1909-2006), an American chemist who played a crucial role in the development of the birth control pill. His research on synthetic hormones and their applications in contraception revolutionized the field of reproductive health.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brewer
Among Census respondents with the surname Brewer, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Brewer 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 Brewer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 77,017
- Black or African American12.3% · 12,164
- Two or more races4.7% · 4,612
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 3,050
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 1,273
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 534
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brewer
Brewer 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
#303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103,318
+2,853 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 35.03
Rank movement Down 29 places
2020
#313
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98,650
-4,668 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 33.00
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #274 | 100,465 | 37.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #303 | 103,318 | 35.03 | +2,853 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 29 places |
| 2020 | #313 | 98,650 | 33.00 | -4,668 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 10 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 Brewer 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 | #303 | #313 | -3.3% |
| Count | 103,318 | 98,650 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 35.03 | 33.00 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brewer bearers went from 103,318 to 98,650 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #303 to #313.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Brewer
FAQ
Brewer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brewer?
Name Census estimates that about 113,125 living Americans carry the surname Brewer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,030 residents.
How common is Brewer?
Brewer ranks #313 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 33.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 33 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 98,650 people with the surname Brewer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (113,125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 33.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 33 of them to have the surname Brewer.
Has Brewer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brewer went from 103,318 recorded bearers to 98,650. That is a decrease of 4,668 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #303 to #313.
What does the Census say about the background of Brewer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brewer, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Brewer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (77,017 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brewer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.1%), Black (12.3%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Brewer (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 Brewer mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who brews beer or ale. 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 Brewer (33.00 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 Brewer?
Want to know how many people have the surname Brewer? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.