Find out how popular the last name Brast is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brast.

Brast, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brast surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brast in America

Brast is the 94730th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brast surname appeared 193 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Brast.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brast to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Brast

The surname BRAST is of English origin, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "braest," which means "burst" or "break." The name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a burst or broken bank of a river or stream.

In medieval times, the BRAST surname was found primarily in the counties of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Huntingdonshire Feet of Fines, a legal document from 1260, which mentions a Thomas Brast.

The Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, does not contain any direct references to the BRAST surname. However, it does list several place names that may have influenced the development of the name, such as Brastede (now Brasted) in Kent and Brascenburg (now Brassington) in Derbyshire.

Among the notable individuals who bore the BRAST surname throughout history are:

1. Richard Brast (c. 1485 - 1558), an English lawyer and member of the Privy Council during the reign of Queen Mary I.
2. John Brast (1570 - 1639), a British explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expeditions to the Americas.
3. Elizabeth Brast (1612 - 1684), an English Quaker preacher and author known for her writings on religious tolerance.
4. William Brast (1725 - 1803), a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and was later appointed Governor of Nova Scotia.
5. Mary Brast (1809 - 1892), a British philanthropist and social reformer who founded several schools and orphanages in London.

The BRAST surname has also been associated with various place names over the centuries, such as Brasted in Kent, Brasteed in Essex, and Brastead in Suffolk. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brast

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brast.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brast was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brast has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Brast was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brast, please contact us.

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