2000
#10,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,890
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Brazier
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or worked with brass or metal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,229 Americans carry the last name Brazier. That puts it at #10,813 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,149 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brazier 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Brazier with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 106,149
Census rank
#10,813
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,816 bearers of the surname Brazier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10813th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brazier, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brazier
The surname Brazier has its origins in England, with records indicating its presence as early as the 13th century. It is derived from the Old French word "brasier," meaning a worker in brass or a maker of brass objects. The name is occupational in nature, referring to those who practiced the trade of brasiers or braziers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a Gilbert le Brasur. The surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John le Brasyere is listed. These early spellings, such as Brasur and Brasyere, reflect the evolution of the name from its French origins.
The Brazier surname is closely linked to the village of Brazier in Oxfordshire, which likely took its name from the occupations of its early inhabitants. This connection is evident in the records of the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where a William de Brasiere is mentioned.
Notable individuals bearing the Brazier surname include John Brazier (c. 1520-1556), an English Protestant reformer and martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions. Another significant figure is William Brazier (1691-1768), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
In the 17th century, Nicholas Brazier (1633-1670) was a renowned English mathematician and astronomer. He served as the Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford and made contributions to the study of optics and astronomy.
Moving into the 19th century, John Brazier (1768-1830) was an English artist and engraver known for his landscape paintings and engravings of British scenery. His works were widely celebrated during his lifetime.
More recently, James Brazier (1908-1974) was a British naval officer who served in World War II and later became an author, publishing several historical novels and biographies.
Throughout its history, the Brazier surname has maintained a strong connection to its occupational roots, reflecting the skilled craftsmen and artisans who bore this name in earlier times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brazier
Among Census respondents with the surname Brazier, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Brazier 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 Brazier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.0% · 1,942
- Black or African American22.5% · 634
- Two or more races4.1% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brazier
Brazier 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
#9,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,240
+350 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Up 273 places
2020
#10,813
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,816
-424 bearers (-13.1%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 852 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,234 | 2,890 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,961 | 3,240 | 1.10 | +350 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 273 places |
| 2020 | #10,813 | 2,816 | 0.94 | -424 bearers (-13.1%) | Down 852 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 Brazier 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 | #9,961 | #10,813 | -8.6% |
| Count | 3,240 | 2,816 | -13.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 0.94 | -14.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brazier bearers went from 3,240 to 2,816 (-13.1% change). The surname moved down 852 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,961 to #10,813.
FAQ
Brazier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brazier?
Name Census estimates that about 3,229 living Americans carry the surname Brazier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,149 residents.
How common is Brazier?
Brazier ranks #10,813 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,816 people with the surname Brazier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,229), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Brazier.
Has Brazier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brazier went from 3,240 recorded bearers to 2,816. That is a decrease of 424 (-13.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,961 to #10,813.
What does the Census say about the background of Brazier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brazier, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Brazier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.0% (1,942 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brazier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.0%), Black (22.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Brazier (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 Brazier mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or worked with brass or metal. 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 Brazier (0.94 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 are called Brazier?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Brazier? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.