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

Braz, 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 Braz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Braz in America

Braz is the 28552nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Braz surname appeared 835 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 Braz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Braz 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 Braz

The surname Braz originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the ancient Latinized name Braz or Blas, which was a form of the Roman name Blasius. This name was particularly popular in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Braz can be found in a 13th-century Portuguese manuscript, where a nobleman named Gonçalo Braz was mentioned as a landowner in the region of Beira. This suggests that the name might have been initially associated with this particular area of Portugal.

During the 15th century, the surname Braz began to spread across Portugal as the country experienced a period of exploration and expansion. Several notable individuals bearing this surname emerged, including Pedro Braz, a navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1498.

In the 16th century, the Braz surname found its way to Brazil, as Portuguese colonists and settlers brought their names to the newly discovered lands. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Brazil is João Braz, a wealthy landowner and cattle rancher who established a prominent family in the state of Pernambuco.

Throughout the centuries, the Braz surname has been associated with several prominent figures, including:

1. Fernão Braz, a 16th-century Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a crucial role in the discovery and mapping of the Strait of Magalhães (Strait of Magellan).
2. José Braz Teixeira, a 17th-century Portuguese architect known for his work on the Convent of Mafra, one of the largest baroque buildings in Europe.
3. Antônio Braz Abade, an 18th-century Brazilian sculptor and woodcarver renowned for his religious artworks.
4. Joaquim Braz Ferreira, a 19th-century Brazilian politician and lawyer who served as a senator and played a significant role in the abolition of slavery in Brazil.
5. Braz Cubas, a fictional character created by the renowned Brazilian writer Machado de Assis in his novel Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas (The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas), published in 1881.

While the Braz surname has its roots in Portugal, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly to countries with historical ties to the Portuguese empire, such as Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Braz

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

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 Braz 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 Braz 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 Braz was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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