2000
#3,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,458
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.88
Uncommon Last name
Brackett
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of leather armor or metal brackets and clasps.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,473 Americans carry the last name Brackett. That puts it at #3,482 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,875 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brackett 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 Brackett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 29,875
Census rank
#3,482
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,005 bearers of the surname Brackett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3482nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brackett, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brackett
The surname Brackett is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "bræc", meaning a thicket or dense undergrowth. It is believed to have first emerged as a surname during the 11th century, referring to someone who lived near or worked with thickets or dense vegetation.
The name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions several individuals with variations of the name, such as Bractot and Bracholt. These early spellings indicate that the name had already begun to evolve and take on different forms by the time of the Norman Conquest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brackett can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a William Brachett is mentioned. In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records, including the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1237, which references a Robert Brakete.
The name Brackett has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Brackett Farm in Berkshire and Brackett's Green in Essex. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Brackett who lived or owned land in those areas.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Brackett. One of the earliest was Thomas Brackett (c. 1480 - c. 1550), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Cricklade in 1542. Another prominent figure was John Brackett (1612 - 1663), an early settler in colonial Massachusetts and a founder of the town of Braintree.
In the 18th century, Joshua Brackett (1733 - 1804) was an American soldier and politician who served as a brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War. Later, Walter M. Brackett (1828 - 1919) was an American architect and designer who is known for his work on several notable buildings in Boston.
More recently, Charles Brackett (1892 - 1969) was an American novelist, playwright, and film writer who co-wrote the screenplay for the classic film "Sunset Boulevard" in 1950, for which he won an Academy Award.
While the surname Brackett has evolved over time and taken on various spellings, its origins can be traced back to the Old English word for a thicket, reflecting the occupations or living situations of its earliest bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brackett
Among Census respondents with the surname Brackett, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Brackett 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 Brackett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 8,098
- Black or African American9.8% · 985
- Two or more races4.4% · 438
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 310
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brackett
Brackett 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
#3,278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,027
+569 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 3.74
Rank movement Down 122 places
2020
#3,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,005
-1,022 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 3.35
Rank movement Down 204 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,156 | 10,458 | 3.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,278 | 11,027 | 3.74 | +569 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 122 places |
| 2020 | #3,482 | 10,005 | 3.35 | -1,022 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 204 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 Brackett 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 | #3,278 | #3,482 | -6.2% |
| Count | 11,027 | 10,005 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.74 | 3.35 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brackett bearers went from 11,027 to 10,005 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 204 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,278 to #3,482.
FAQ
Brackett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brackett?
Name Census estimates that about 11,473 living Americans carry the surname Brackett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,875 residents.
How common is Brackett?
Brackett ranks #3,482 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,005 people with the surname Brackett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,473), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Brackett.
Has Brackett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brackett went from 11,027 recorded bearers to 10,005. That is a decrease of 1,022 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,278 to #3,482.
What does the Census say about the background of Brackett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brackett, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Brackett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (8,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brackett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (9.8%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Brackett (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 Brackett mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of leather armor or metal brackets and 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 Brackett (3.35 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 Brackett?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.