2000
#13,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,006
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Braunstein
A German and Jewish surname derived from the German words "braun" (brown) and "stein" (stone).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,487 Americans carry the last name Braunstein. That puts it at #13,421 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,818 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Braunstein 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
2.5K
1 in 137,818
Census rank
#13,421
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,169 bearers of the surname Braunstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13421st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Braunstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Braunstein
The surname Braunstein is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is a combination of the German words "braun," meaning brown, and "stein," meaning stone. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked with brown stones, perhaps in a quarry or as a stonemason.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Braunstein can be found in historical documents from various regions of present-day Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony, dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Some variations in spelling, such as Braunsten and Braunstain, were also common during this period.
The name Braunstein is not mentioned in the famous Domesday Book, which was a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. However, it does appear in other historical records, such as church registers and municipal archives from various German cities and towns.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Braunstein was Hans Braunstein, a merchant from Nuremberg who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Johann Braunstein, a Lutheran theologian and author who was born in Saxony in 1545 and died in 1616.
In the 17th century, a prominent Braunstein was Gottfried Braunstein, a German artist and engraver born in 1612 in Nuremberg. His works, including portraits and religious scenes, were highly regarded during his lifetime.
Moving into the 18th century, Johann Philipp Braunstein (1705-1768) was a German composer and organist who worked in various churches and courts in central Germany.
In the 19th century, Karl Braunstein (1833-1905) was a German-born American civil engineer who made significant contributions to the construction of railroads and bridges in the United States.
While the surname Braunstein has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and immigration. It is now found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Israel, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Braunstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Braunstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Braunstein 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 Braunstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 1,983
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 106
- Two or more races2.3% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Braunstein
Braunstein 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
#13,251
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,304
+298 bearers (+14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Up 574 places
2020
#13,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,169
-135 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 170 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,825 | 2,006 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,251 | 2,304 | 0.78 | +298 bearers (+14.9%) | Up 574 places |
| 2020 | #13,421 | 2,169 | 0.73 | -135 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 170 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 Braunstein 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 | #13,251 | #13,421 | -1.3% |
| Count | 2,304 | 2,169 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.73 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Braunstein bearers went from 2,304 to 2,169 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 170 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,251 to #13,421.
FAQ
Braunstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Braunstein?
Name Census estimates that about 2,487 living Americans carry the surname Braunstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,818 residents.
How common is Braunstein?
Braunstein ranks #13,421 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,169 people with the surname Braunstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,487), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Braunstein.
Has Braunstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Braunstein went from 2,304 recorded bearers to 2,169. That is a decrease of 135 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,251 to #13,421.
What does the Census say about the background of Braunstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Braunstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Braunstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (1,983 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Braunstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (4.9%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Braunstein (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 Braunstein mean?
A German and Jewish surname derived from the German words "braun" (brown) and "stein" (stone). 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 Braunstein (0.73 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 have the last name Braunstein?
You can see how many people are called Braunstein on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.