2000
#77
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 240,751
First available Census row
Per 100,000 89.25
Common Last name
Brooks
A topographic surname for someone who lived near a brook or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 279,934 Americans carry the last name Brooks. That puts it at #85 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 81.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,224 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brooks 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 Brooks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
280K
1 in 1,224
Census rank
#85
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
81.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
244K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 244,116 bearers of the surname Brooks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 81.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 85th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brooks, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brooks
The surname Brooks originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "broc," meaning a small stream or brook. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a brook or a stream.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, the name is recorded as "de la Broc." This early spelling indicates that the name originally referred to a place name or a location near a brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Brooks is found in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk from 1166, where it is spelled "Broc." The Pipe Rolls were a series of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer.
The name Brooks has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Brooksby in Leicestershire, Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and Brookland in Kent. These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and the geographical feature of a brook.
Notable individuals with the surname Brooks throughout history include:
1. John Brooks (1752-1825), an American Revolutionary War soldier and the eighth Governor of Massachusetts.
2. Maria Gowen Brooks (1794-1845), an American writer and educator who established one of the first literary periodicals for women in the United States.
3. Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), an American Episcopal clergyman and author, best known for writing the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem."
4. Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), an American poet and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950.
5. Mel Brooks (born 1926), an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker, known for his satirical comedies such as "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein."
The surname Brooks has a rich history rooted in the English landscape and has been carried by individuals across various fields, including literature, politics, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brooks
Among Census respondents with the surname Brooks, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Brooks 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 Brooks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.7% · 140,964
- Black or African American32.5% · 79,432
- Two or more races5.0% · 12,090
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 8,382
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,801
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,447
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brooks
Brooks 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
#82
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 251,663
+10,912 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 85.32
Rank movement Down 5 places
2020
#85
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 244,116
-7,547 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 81.67
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #77 | 240,751 | 89.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #82 | 251,663 | 85.32 | +10,912 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 5 places |
| 2020 | #85 | 244,116 | 81.67 | -7,547 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 3 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 Brooks 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 | #82 | #85 | -3.7% |
| Count | 251,663 | 244,116 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 85.32 | 81.67 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brooks bearers went from 251,663 to 244,116 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #82 to #85.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Brooks
FAQ
Brooks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brooks?
Name Census estimates that about 279,934 living Americans carry the surname Brooks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,224 residents.
How common is Brooks?
Brooks ranks #85 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 81.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 82 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 244,116 people with the surname Brooks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (279,934), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 81.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 81.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 82 of them to have the surname Brooks.
Has Brooks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brooks went from 251,663 recorded bearers to 244,116. That is a decrease of 7,547 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #82 to #85.
What does the Census say about the background of Brooks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brooks, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Brooks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.7% (140,964 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brooks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.7%), Black (32.5%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Brooks (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 Brooks mean?
A topographic surname for someone who lived near a brook or stream. 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 Brooks (81.67 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 surname Brooks?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.