Brewer
One who brews or produces alcoholic beverages like beer or ale.
Name Census estimates that about 1,038 living Americans carry the first name Brewer. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Brewer today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brewer births was 2024 (198 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brewer. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Brewer is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 330,206 Americans
Peak year
2024
198 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,106
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Brewer
Out of the 1,085 babies given the name Brewer since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Brewer as a male name
- Ranked #1,106 in 2024
- 193 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (193 births)
Brewer as a female name
- Ranked #15,648 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (5 births)
Popularity
Brewer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brewer from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 564 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brewer by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Brewer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brewers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Brewer, while Illinois, Florida, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brewer
The name Brewer has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "brewere," which referred to a person who brewed or made beer. This occupation-based name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, between the 5th and 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brewer can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions several individuals with the surname Brewer, indicating that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
In medieval times, brewers played an important role in society, as beer was a staple beverage consumed by people from all walks of life. The name Brewer may have been used to identify individuals who practiced this craft, and it likely carried a certain level of prestige and respect within local communities.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name Brewer was William Brewer, a 12th-century English churchman and judge who served as Lord Chancellor to King John and King Henry III. He was born around 1165 and died in 1226.
Another prominent figure with the name Brewer was John Brewer, an English educator and scholar who lived in the 17th century. He was born in 1608 and served as the headmaster of the prestigious Winchester College from 1644 to 1662.
In the field of literature, Wilbur Brewer (1889-1952) was an American poet and educator who published several collections of poetry and worked as a professor of English at various universities.
In the realm of sports, Jim Brewer (1937-1987) was an American professional baseball player who played as a pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, during the 1960s and 1970s.
Another notable figure with the name Brewer is Teresa Brewer (1931-2007), an American popular singer who enjoyed success in the 1950s with hits like "Till I Waltz Again with You" and "Gonna Get Along Without Ya' Now."
While the name Brewer has its roots in an occupational title, it has evolved over time and been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, reflecting the diverse and rich tapestry of human history and culture.
People
Brewer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brewer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Brewer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brewer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,038 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brewer going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 330,206 US residents.
Is Brewer a common name?
We classify Brewer as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,085 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brewer most popular?
The single biggest year for Brewer was 2024, when 198 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brewer is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brewer a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Brewer in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.