2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Braendle
A German surname derived from a place name or describing someone from a remote, sparsely populated area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Braendle. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Braendle 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.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Braendle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Braendle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Braendle
The surname Braendle is of German origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "brant," meaning "a clearing in the forest," and the suffix "-le," which indicates a diminutive form. This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a small clearing in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Braendle can be found in the "Ortsnamenverzeichnis des Großherzogtums Baden" (Place Names Directory of the Grand Duchy of Baden), a historical document from the 19th century. The document mentions the village of Bräunlingen, which is believed to be related to the surname Braendle.
In the 17th century, Johannes Braendle (1624-1697) was a prominent Protestant theologian and author from Württemberg. He wrote several theological works and served as a pastor in various churches in the region.
Another notable figure with this surname was Carl Braendle (1835-1892), a German-born American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Matthew and the former New York Cotton Exchange building.
In the early 20th century, Friedrich Braendle (1879-1949) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) from 1912 to 1918.
The name Braendle can also be found in historical records from Switzerland, where it is believed to have been introduced by German immigrants. One example is Hans Braendle (1561-1619), a Swiss theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Basel.
Throughout its history, the surname Braendle has also been spelled in various ways, such as Brändle, Brendel, and Brendle, reflecting regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Braendle
Among Census respondents with the surname Braendle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Braendle 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 Braendle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Braendle
Braendle 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-6 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,835 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-9 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,389 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 14,835 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 7,389 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 Braendle 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 | #146,201 | #153,590 | -5.1% |
| Count | 113 | 104 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Braendle bearers went from 113 to 104 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 7,389 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #153,590.
FAQ
Braendle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Braendle?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Braendle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Braendle?
Braendle ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Braendle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Braendle.
Has Braendle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Braendle went from 113 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Braendle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Braendle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Braendle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Braendle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (5.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Braendle (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 Braendle mean?
A German surname derived from a place name or describing someone from a remote, sparsely populated area. 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 Braendle (0.03 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 many people are called Braendle?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Braendle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.