Find out how popular the last name Brace is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brace.

Brace, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brace surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brace in America

Brace is the 6823rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brace surname appeared 4,943 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Brace.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brace to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Brace

The surname Brace is believed to have originated in England, where it first appeared as an occupational name for someone who made braces or supports used in construction and carpentry. The name is derived from the Old French word "brace," which means "arm" or "support."

In the 13th century, the name Brace was first recorded in various counties across England, including Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, and Gloucestershire. Early records show variants of the spelling, such as Bras, Brasse, and Braced.

One of the earliest known references to the name Brace can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which list a John le Brace in Oxfordshire. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 also mention a William le Brace.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Brace was associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded was Sir Robert Brace, a member of the gentry in Somerset, who lived in the late 14th century. Another was John Brace, a merchant and prominent citizen of Bristol in the 15th century.

In the 16th century, the Brace family established themselves as landed gentry in Warwickshire. One of the most notable members was Edmund Brace (c. 1550-1624), who served as the High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1613.

The Brace surname also has connections to various place names in England, such as Brace Meole in Shropshire and Brace's Leigh in Worcestershire. These locations likely derived their names from early Brace landowners or residents.

Other notable individuals with the surname Brace include Sir Samuel Brace (1601-1678), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1660, and John Brace (1758-1835), an English Baptist minister and theological writer.

Despite its English origins, the surname Brace eventually spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as a result of emigration and settlement in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brace

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brace.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brace was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brace has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Brace was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brace, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!