2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Brearey
A locational surname referring to someone from Brearey or Brearley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Brearey. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brearey 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 Brearey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Brearey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brearey, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brearey
The surname "BREAREY" is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "bræra", which means a briar bush or a thorny shrub. This suggests that the name was originally an occupational name for someone who lived near or worked with briar bushes.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297, where it is listed as "Robert de Brerye". This indicates that the name was prevalent in the northern county of Yorkshire during the medieval period.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a reference to a place called "Brerehaugh" in Northumberland, which may have been the origin of the surname for some families. This place name contains the Old English elements "brer" (briar) and "haugr" (hill or mound), suggesting a location where briar bushes grew on a hill.
The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not include any direct mentions of the surname "BREAREY", but it does record several place names with similar roots, such as "Breretwode" (Briarwood) in Oxfordshire and "Breredic" (Briar Ditch) in Buckinghamshire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname "BREAREY" was John Brearey, born in 1562 in Wakefield, Yorkshire. He was a prominent landowner and served as a magistrate in the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Brearey (1580-1659), a successful merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1633. He was knighted by King Charles I in recognition of his contributions to the city.
During the English Civil War (1642-1651), Captain William Brearey (1620-1676) fought for the Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell. He was present at the Battle of Naseby in 1645, which proved to be a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians.
In the 18th century, Reverend James Brearey (1720-1791) was a prominent clergyman in the Church of England and served as the Rector of St. Mary's Church in Beverley, Yorkshire.
Another noteworthy figure was Elizabeth Brearey (1799-1878), a philanthropist and social reformer from Lancashire. She dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of the working class and establishing schools for underprivileged children.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brearey
Among Census respondents with the surname Brearey, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Brearey 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 Brearey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 111
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brearey
Brearey appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+11 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,739 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 10,739 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 Brearey 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 | #157,234 | #146,495 | 6.8% |
| Count | 103 | 114 | 10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brearey bearers went from 103 to 114 (+10.7% change). The surname moved up 10,739 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #146,495.
FAQ
Brearey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brearey?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Brearey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Brearey?
Brearey ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Brearey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Brearey.
Has Brearey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brearey went from 103 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 11 (+10.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Brearey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brearey, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Brearey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brearey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Brearey (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 Brearey mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Brearey or Brearley. 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 Brearey (0.04 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 surname Brearey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.