2000
#10,504
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,805
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Brandes
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the German word "brand," meaning "fire" or "sword."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,102 Americans carry the last name Brandes. That puts it at #11,183 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brandes 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
3.1K
1 in 110,495
Census rank
#11,183
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,705 bearers of the surname Brandes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11183rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brandes, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brandes
The surname Brandes has its origins in the Low German and Dutch languages. It is derived from the Middle Low German word "brand," which means "a burning or fire." The name likely originated in the northern regions of Germany and the Netherlands during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brandes can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 13th century. This suggests that the name may have originated in the area around Bremen, which was part of the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading confederation in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages.
The name Brandes is also closely associated with the German word "Brandstätte," which means "a place where a fire has occurred." This connection implies that the name may have been given to individuals who lived in areas that had been affected by fires or worked in professions related to fire, such as blacksmiths or charcoal makers.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Brandes was Johannes Brandes, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1516 to 1588. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
Another notable figure with the surname Brandes was Georg Brandes, a Danish literary critic and scholar who lived from 1842 to 1927. He was a influential figure in the Scandinavian literary world and played a significant role in introducing modern European literature to Denmark.
In the Netherlands, the name Brandes was associated with the town of Brandes, which is now part of the municipality of Steenwijkerland in the province of Overijssel. This suggests that the name may have originated in this region and been adopted by families living in or near the town.
Other notable individuals with the surname Brandes include:
1. Gustav Brandes, a German-born American writer and journalist who lived from 1859 to 1945.
2. Wilhelm Brandes, a German astronomer who lived from 1854 to 1928 and discovered several asteroids.
3. Edvard Brandes, a Danish writer and literary critic who lived from 1847 to 1931.
4. Hans Brandes, a German-born American artist and illustrator who lived from 1906 to 1980.
5. Carl Brandes, a German classical scholar and philologist who lived from 1819 to 1887.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brandes
Among Census respondents with the surname Brandes, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Brandes 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 Brandes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,456
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 96
- Two or more races3.4% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 46
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brandes
Brandes 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
#10,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,127
+322 bearers (+11.5%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 202 places
2020
#11,183
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,705
-422 bearers (-13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 881 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,504 | 2,805 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,302 | 3,127 | 1.06 | +322 bearers (+11.5%) | Up 202 places |
| 2020 | #11,183 | 2,705 | 0.90 | -422 bearers (-13.5%) | Down 881 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 Brandes 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 | #10,302 | #11,183 | -8.6% |
| Count | 3,127 | 2,705 | -13.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 0.90 | -14.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brandes bearers went from 3,127 to 2,705 (-13.5% change). The surname moved down 881 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,302 to #11,183.
FAQ
Brandes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brandes?
Name Census estimates that about 3,102 living Americans carry the surname Brandes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,495 residents.
How common is Brandes?
Brandes ranks #11,183 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,705 people with the surname Brandes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,102), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Brandes.
Has Brandes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brandes went from 3,127 recorded bearers to 2,705. That is a decrease of 422 (-13.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,302 to #11,183.
What does the Census say about the background of Brandes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brandes, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Brandes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,456 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brandes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Brandes (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 Brandes mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the German word "brand," meaning "fire" or "sword." 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 Brandes (0.90 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 Brandes?
Want to know how many people have the last name Brandes? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.