2000
#13,040
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Brantner
A German occupational surname referring to someone who cleared land by burning, derived from the Middle High German "brant".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,352 Americans carry the last name Brantner. That puts it at #14,062 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,729 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brantner 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
2.4K
1 in 145,729
Census rank
#14,062
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,051 bearers of the surname Brantner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14062nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brantner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brantner
The surname Brantner has its roots in the German language and is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, Germany during the medieval period. The name is derived from the German word "brant," which means "burning" or "burnt land," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have lived near or worked on land that had been cleared through burning.
Brantner is a topographic surname, meaning it was originally given to someone who lived in a particular area or worked in a specific occupation related to that area. In this case, the name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked on land that had been cleared through burning, possibly for agricultural purposes or to create new settlements.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brantner can be found in the Bavarian town of Landshut, where a man named Hans Brantner was mentioned in a document dated 1472. This document, now preserved in the archives of the city, provides insight into the early use of the surname in the region.
Another notable early reference to the name Brantner appears in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a man named Ulrich Brantner was recorded as a citizen in the year 1528. These early records suggest that the surname was well-established in various parts of Bavaria by the late medieval and early modern periods.
Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Brantner have achieved notable accomplishments or gained recognition in various fields. For example, Georg Brantner (1660-1723) was a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. Johann Brantner (1770-1845) was a Austrian painter known for his landscape and religious works.
Other notable individuals with the Brantner surname include:
1. Gottfried Brantner (1850-1925), an Austrian politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Vienna from 1909 to 1919.
2. Franz Brantner (1892-1972), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Munich.
3. Erika Brantner (born 1941), an Austrian politician and member of the European Parliament.
4. Bernhard Brantner (born 1955), an Austrian author and journalist known for his novels and non-fiction works on cultural and historical topics.
5. Jochen Brantner (born 1962), a German football player who played as a striker for several Bundesliga clubs in the 1980s and 1990s.
While the Brantner surname has its roots in Germany and Austria, it has since spread to various parts of the world through immigration and migration, with bearers of the name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brantner
Among Census respondents with the surname Brantner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Brantner 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 Brantner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 1,913
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 64
- Two or more races2.1% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brantner
Brantner 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
#12,136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,567
+412 bearers (+19.1%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Up 904 places
2020
#14,062
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,051
-516 bearers (-20.1%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 1,926 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,040 | 2,155 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,136 | 2,567 | 0.87 | +412 bearers (+19.1%) | Up 904 places |
| 2020 | #14,062 | 2,051 | 0.69 | -516 bearers (-20.1%) | Down 1,926 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 Brantner 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 | #12,136 | #14,062 | -15.9% |
| Count | 2,567 | 2,051 | -20.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.69 | -21.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brantner bearers went from 2,567 to 2,051 (-20.1% change). The surname moved down 1,926 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,136 to #14,062.
FAQ
Brantner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brantner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,352 living Americans carry the surname Brantner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,729 residents.
How common is Brantner?
Brantner ranks #14,062 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,051 people with the surname Brantner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,352), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Brantner.
Has Brantner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brantner went from 2,567 recorded bearers to 2,051. That is a decrease of 516 (-20.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,136 to #14,062.
What does the Census say about the background of Brantner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brantner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Brantner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (1,913 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brantner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Brantner (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 Brantner mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who cleared land by burning, derived from the Middle High German "brant". 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 Brantner (0.69 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 Brantner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.