2000
#31,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 690
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.26
Very Rare Last name
Brandstetter
A surname of German origin meaning "fire maker" or "fire starter".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 937 Americans carry the last name Brandstetter. That puts it at #30,578 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 365,800 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brandstetter 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
937
1 in 365,800
Census rank
#30,578
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
817
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 817 bearers of the surname Brandstetter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 30578th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brandstetter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brandstetter
The surname Brandstetter has its origins in the German language, and it is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, Germany, during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the German words "Brand," meaning "fire" or "burning," and "Stetter," which is a variation of the word "Statt," meaning "place" or "location."
This surname was likely given to someone who lived near a burned or charred area or worked as a charcoal burner or in a profession related to fire. The name may also have been associated with a place name that included the word "Brand" or a variation of it.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brandstetter can be found in the Bavarian town of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Brandstetter was mentioned in a document from 1492. Another early record dates back to 1535, when a Johann Brandstetter was listed in the town of Augsburg.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Brandstetter appeared in various records and manuscripts in different parts of Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia. Some notable individuals from this period include Georg Brandstetter (1557-1628), a German theologian and author, and Johann Christoph Brandstetter (1625-1691), a German philologist and linguist.
In the 18th century, the name Brandstetter continued to be prevalent in Germany, with individuals such as Johann Lorenz Brandstetter (1706-1775), a German composer and organist, and Johann Michael Brandstetter (1761-1833), a German painter and engraver.
As the Brandstetter family spread across Europe and beyond, the name took on various spellings and variations, such as Brandstetner, Brandstetner, and Brandstätter. One notable figure from this period was Johann Christoph Brandstetner (1753-1821), an Austrian architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in Vienna.
Other notable individuals with the surname Brandstetter include Renward Brandstetter (1860-1942), a Swiss linguist and professor, and Arthur Brandstetter (1877-1956), an Austrian film director and producer who was active in the early days of cinema.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brandstetter
Among Census respondents with the surname Brandstetter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Brandstetter 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 Brandstetter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 737
- Two or more races4.0% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brandstetter
Brandstetter 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
#31,068
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 747
+57 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 590 places
2020
#30,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 817
+70 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Up 490 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,658 | 690 | 0.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31,068 | 747 | 0.25 | +57 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 590 places |
| 2020 | #30,578 | 817 | 0.27 | +70 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 490 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 Brandstetter 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 | #31,068 | #30,578 | 1.6% |
| Count | 747 | 817 | 9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.25 | 0.27 | 9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brandstetter bearers went from 747 to 817 (+9.4% change). The surname moved up 490 positions in the national ranking, going from #31,068 to #30,578.
FAQ
Brandstetter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brandstetter?
Name Census estimates that about 937 living Americans carry the surname Brandstetter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 365,800 residents.
How common is Brandstetter?
Brandstetter ranks #30,578 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.27 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 817 people with the surname Brandstetter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (937), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.27 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 Brandstetter.
Has Brandstetter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brandstetter went from 747 recorded bearers to 817. That is an increase of 70 (+9.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #31,068 to #30,578.
What does the Census say about the background of Brandstetter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brandstetter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) 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 Brandstetter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (737 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brandstetter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%), 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 Brandstetter (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 Brandstetter mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "fire maker" or "fire starter". 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 Brandstetter (0.27 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 Brandstetter?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.