2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Branstiter
A German occupational surname derived from "brantstedter" meaning someone from the brandy distillery.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Branstiter. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Branstiter 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Branstiter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Branstiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Branstiter
The surname Branstiter has its origins in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German words "brenn" meaning "to burn" and "stetig" meaning "steadfast" or "constant." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who worked as a charcoal burner or in a similar occupation involving fire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a church register from the town of Aschaffenburg in Bavaria, where a certain Johannes Branstiter was listed as a resident in 1573. Another early mention comes from the city of Augsburg, where a Hans Branstiter was recorded as a member of the local guild of brewers in 1597.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name appears to have spread across various regions of Germany, with records showing Branstiters living in areas such as Saxony, Thuringia, and the Rhineland. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Branstiter (1632-1698), a Protestant minister who served in the town of Zwickau, and Anna Maria Branstiter (1691-1764), a renowned midwife from the city of Nuremberg.
As migration patterns shifted in the 19th century, the Branstiter name began to appear in other parts of Europe and even in North America. One of the earliest known Branstiters in the United States was Johann Michael Branstiter (1801-1872), who immigrated from Bavaria and settled in Ohio in the 1840s.
Other notable individuals with the Branstiter surname include:
1. Karl Branstiter (1856-1924), a German-born architect who designed several prominent buildings in Chicago, Illinois.
2. Margarethe Branstiter (1876-1952), a Austrian opera singer who performed at the Vienna State Opera.
3. Hans Branstiter (1892-1971), a Swiss painter and illustrator known for his landscape paintings of the Swiss Alps.
4. Erich Branstiter (1910-1997), a German-American engineer who made significant contributions to the development of early computers at IBM.
5. Ingrid Branstiter (born 1941), a German-born author and journalist who has written extensively on cultural and social issues.
While the Branstiter name has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has left its mark across various fields and continues to be carried on by families around the world today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Branstiter
Among Census respondents with the surname Branstiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Branstiter 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 Branstiter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 98
- Two or more races9.2% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Branstiter
Branstiter 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-13 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,348 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+5 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,432 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 20,348 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.4%) | Up 2,432 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 Branstiter 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 | #145,220 | #142,788 | 1.7% |
| Count | 114 | 119 | 4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Branstiter bearers went from 114 to 119 (+4.4% change). The surname moved up 2,432 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #142,788.
FAQ
Branstiter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Branstiter?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Branstiter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Branstiter?
Branstiter ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Branstiter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Branstiter.
Has Branstiter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Branstiter went from 114 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 5 (+4.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #145,220 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Branstiter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Branstiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Hispanic (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 Branstiter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Branstiter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Two or More Races (9.2%), Hispanic (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 Branstiter (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 Branstiter mean?
A German occupational surname derived from "brantstedter" meaning someone from the brandy distillery. 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 Branstiter (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Branstiter?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.