2000
#4,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,494
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.41
Rare Last name
Brody
A surname of Irish origin meaning "ditch" or "muddy place," likely referring to a person who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,465 Americans carry the last name Brody. That puts it at #5,185 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,915 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brody 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 Brody with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.5K
1 in 45,915
Census rank
#5,185
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,510 bearers of the surname Brody in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5185th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brody, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brody
The surname Brody originated in Eastern Europe, specifically in regions that are now part of Poland and Ukraine. It is derived from the Slavic word "brod," which means "ford" or a shallow place in a river where people can cross. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a ford or was responsible for maintaining or operating a ford.
Brody was first recorded as a surname in the 14th century in Polish and Ukrainian records. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name include Bronislaw Brody, a landowner in the village of Brody, Poland, in the late 1300s, and Yaroslav Brody, a merchant in the city of Lviv (formerly part of Poland, now in Ukraine) in the early 1400s.
The name Brody is also associated with several place names in Eastern Europe, such as the town of Brody in western Ukraine, which was an important trading center in the 16th and 17th centuries. The town's name is derived from its location near a ford on the Styr River.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brody in England is John Brody, a merchant from Gdansk (then part of Poland) who settled in London in the late 16th century. Another notable historical figure with the surname Brody was Isaac Brody (1819-1886), a Russian-born Jewish scholar and writer who contributed to the development of modern Hebrew literature.
Other notable individuals with the surname Brody include:
1. Adrien Brody (born 1973), American actor known for roles in films like "The Pianist" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
2. David Brody (1958-2022), American journalist and author who covered politics and religion.
3. Fanny Brody (1892-1949), Russian-born American actress and singer in Yiddish theater and films.
4. Jill Brody (born 1942), American author and journalist known for her books on health and wellness.
5. Max Brody (1886-1944), Polish-born American painter and sculptor known for his Cubist works.
The surname Brody has been a part of Eastern European history for centuries and has since spread to various parts of the world, carrying with it the legacy of its origins near river fords and trading centers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brody
Among Census respondents with the surname Brody, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Brody 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 Brody surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 5,830
- Black or African American3.7% · 244
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 195
- Two or more races2.4% · 159
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brody
Brody 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
#5,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,805
+311 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 2.31
Rank movement Down 176 places
2020
#5,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,510
-295 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 2.18
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,966 | 6,494 | 2.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,142 | 6,805 | 2.31 | +311 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 176 places |
| 2020 | #5,185 | 6,510 | 2.18 | -295 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 43 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 Brody 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 | #5,142 | #5,185 | -0.8% |
| Count | 6,805 | 6,510 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.31 | 2.18 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brody bearers went from 6,805 to 6,510 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,142 to #5,185.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Brody
FAQ
Brody surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brody?
Name Census estimates that about 7,465 living Americans carry the surname Brody. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,915 residents.
How common is Brody?
Brody ranks #5,185 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,510 people with the surname Brody. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,465), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Brody.
Has Brody become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brody went from 6,805 recorded bearers to 6,510. That is a decrease of 295 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,142 to #5,185.
What does the Census say about the background of Brody?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brody, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Brody in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (5,830 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brody appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Black (3.7%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Brody (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 Brody mean?
A surname of Irish origin meaning "ditch" or "muddy place," likely referring to a person who lived near one. 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 Brody (2.18 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 Brody?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.