2000
#9,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,329
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Brack
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a steep hillside or precipice.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,546 Americans carry the last name Brack. That puts it at #9,962 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,659 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brack 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 Brack with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 96,659
Census rank
#9,962
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,092 bearers of the surname Brack in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9962nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brack, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brack
The surname "BRACK" is believed to have originated in Germany and the Netherlands. It is thought to be derived from the old German word "brache", meaning a fallow or uncultivated field. The name may have referred to someone who lived near or worked on such a field.
In earlier records, the surname appears with various spellings such as "Brack", "Brak", and "Brakke". One of the earliest known mentions of the name is found in the Dutch Republiek records of the late 16th century, where a "Jan Brakke" is listed as a resident of Amsterdam.
The name "BRACK" can also be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which records a "Brac" as a landholder in Lincolnshire, England. This suggests that the name may have been present in England even before the Norman Conquest.
Notable individuals with the surname "BRACK" throughout history include Johann Brack (1653-1718), a German Protestant theologian and author of several religious treatises. Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Brack (1776-1845), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was Peter Brack (1740-1821), a German immigrant who fought in the American Revolutionary War. A more recent example is John Brack (1920-1999), an Australian artist and writer known for his paintings depicting everyday life in suburban Australia.
The surname "BRACK" has also been associated with several place names, such as Brack in County Cavan, Ireland, and Brack's Plantation, a former settlement in South Carolina.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brack
Among Census respondents with the surname Brack, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Brack 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 Brack surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 2,478
- Black or African American10.1% · 312
- Two or more races4.3% · 134
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brack
Brack 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
#9,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,588
+259 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 80 places
2020
#9,962
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,092
-496 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 854 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,028 | 3,329 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,108 | 3,588 | 1.22 | +259 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 80 places |
| 2020 | #9,962 | 3,092 | 1.03 | -496 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 854 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 Brack 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 | #9,108 | #9,962 | -9.4% |
| Count | 3,588 | 3,092 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.03 | -15.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brack bearers went from 3,588 to 3,092 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 854 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,108 to #9,962.
FAQ
Brack surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brack?
Name Census estimates that about 3,546 living Americans carry the surname Brack. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,659 residents.
How common is Brack?
Brack ranks #9,962 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,092 people with the surname Brack. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,546), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Brack.
Has Brack become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brack went from 3,588 recorded bearers to 3,092. That is a decrease of 496 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,108 to #9,962.
What does the Census say about the background of Brack?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brack, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Brack in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (2,478 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brack appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.1%), Black (10.1%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Brack (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 Brack mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a steep hillside or precipice. 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 Brack (1.03 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 Brack?
See how common the surname Brack is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.