2000
#6,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,861
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.80
Rare Last name
Brace
An English occupational surname referring to a maker of armor or jewelry clasps.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,423 Americans carry the last name Brace. That puts it at #6,845 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,204 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brace 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 Brace with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 63,204
Census rank
#6,845
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,729 bearers of the surname Brace in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6845th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brace, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brace
Among Census respondents with the surname Brace, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Brace 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 Brace surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 3,948
- Black or African American7.7% · 363
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 177
- Two or more races3.6% · 169
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brace
Brace 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
#6,823
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,943
+82 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Down 377 places
2020
#6,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,729
-214 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.58
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,446 | 4,861 | 1.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,823 | 4,943 | 1.68 | +82 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 377 places |
| 2020 | #6,845 | 4,729 | 1.58 | -214 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 22 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 Brace 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 | #6,823 | #6,845 | -0.3% |
| Count | 4,943 | 4,729 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.68 | 1.58 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brace bearers went from 4,943 to 4,729 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,823 to #6,845.
FAQ
Brace surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brace?
Name Census estimates that about 5,423 living Americans carry the surname Brace. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,204 residents.
How common is Brace?
Brace ranks #6,845 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.58 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 4,729 people with the surname Brace. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,423), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.58 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 Brace.
Has Brace become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brace went from 4,943 recorded bearers to 4,729. That is a decrease of 214 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,823 to #6,845.
What does the Census say about the background of Brace?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brace, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Brace in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (3,948 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brace appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (7.7%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Brace (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 Brace mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker of armor or jewelry clasps. 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 Brace (1.58 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 common is the surname Brace?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Brace at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.