2000
#120
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 183,761
First available Census row
Per 100,000 68.12
Common Last name
Bryant
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "broom-covered hill" or "person who lived near a broom-covered hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 211,831 Americans carry the last name Bryant. That puts it at #135 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 61.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,618 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bryant 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 Bryant with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
212K
1 in 1,618
Census rank
#135
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
61.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
185K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 184,727 bearers of the surname Bryant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 61.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 135th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bryant, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bryant
The surname Bryant originated in England and is of Anglo-Saxon descent. It is derived from the Old English words "bri" meaning "bridge" and "ant" meaning "dweller". The name was given to someone who lived near a bridge or lived in the bridgehouse. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Briante in the Domesday Book of 1086.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as Briant and Bryant. It was also found in various places such as Briantespill, a place in Suffolk, and Bryantston, a village in Dorset. The name was widespread across England, with concentrations in the southern counties of Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Sir Guy de Bryant, a knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the early 14th century. In the 15th century, John Bryant was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name was well-established across England. Notable individuals included William Bryant (1535-1619), a poet and translator from Lincolnshire, and Sir Francis Bryant (1579-1644), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Buckinghamshire.
In the 18th century, Jacob Bryant (1715-1804) was a prominent English antiquarian and scholar who wrote extensively on ancient mythology and history. William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) was an American romantic poet and journalist, best known for his poems "Thanatopsis" and "To a Waterfowl".
In the 19th century, Walter Bryant (1832-1904) was a British artist and illustrator, known for his paintings of rural life and landscapes. Sophie Bryant (1850-1922) was an English writer and social reformer who campaigned for women's rights and education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bryant
Among Census respondents with the surname Bryant, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bryant 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 Bryant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.0% · 103,459
- Black or African American34.6% · 63,943
- Two or more races4.9% · 9,070
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 5,760
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1,581
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 914
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bryant
Bryant 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
#128
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 192,773
+9,012 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 65.35
Rank movement Down 8 places
2020
#135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 184,727
-8,046 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 61.80
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120 | 183,761 | 68.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128 | 192,773 | 65.35 | +9,012 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 8 places |
| 2020 | #135 | 184,727 | 61.80 | -8,046 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 7 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 Bryant 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 | #128 | #135 | -5.5% |
| Count | 192,773 | 184,727 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 65.35 | 61.80 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bryant bearers went from 192,773 to 184,727 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #128 to #135.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bryant
FAQ
Bryant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bryant?
Name Census estimates that about 211,831 living Americans carry the surname Bryant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,618 residents.
How common is Bryant?
Bryant ranks #135 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 61.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 62 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 184,727 people with the surname Bryant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (211,831), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 61.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 61.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 62 of them to have the surname Bryant.
Has Bryant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bryant went from 192,773 recorded bearers to 184,727. That is a decrease of 8,046 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #128 to #135.
What does the Census say about the background of Bryant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bryant, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bryant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.0% (103,459 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bryant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.0%), Black (34.6%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bryant (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 Bryant mean?
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "broom-covered hill" or "person who lived near a broom-covered hill." 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 Bryant (61.80 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 share the surname Bryant?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.