2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brechtelsbauer
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of Bretzel or pretzel pastries.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 111 Americans carry the last name Brechtelsbauer. That puts it at #156,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,087,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brechtelsbauer 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
111
1 in 3,087,877
Census rank
#156,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
97
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 97 bearers of the surname Brechtelsbauer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brechtelsbauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brechtelsbauer
The surname BRECHTELSBAUER is of German origin and can be traced back to the late medieval period in the regions of Bavaria and Austria. It is a combination of two words – "Brechtel," which is a diminutive form of the German name Berthold, and "Bauer," meaning farmer or peasant.
The earliest known record of the name BRECHTELSBAUER dates back to the 15th century in the town of Passau, located in modern-day Bavaria, Germany. It is believed that the name originated as a way to identify the descendants of a farmer or peasant named Brechtel, who may have been a prominent figure in the local community.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the BRECHTELSBAUER name can be found in various records and manuscripts from the regions of Bavaria and Austria. One notable example is the baptismal record of Johannes BRECHTELSBAUER, born in the village of Oberdorf, near Salzburg, Austria, in 1587.
As the centuries passed, the BRECHTELSBAUER name spread across German-speaking regions, with families carrying the name settling in various parts of Europe. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Matthias BRECHTELSBAUER, a farmer and landowner who lived in the town of Neunburg vorm Wald, in Bavaria, during the early 18th century.
Another notable figure was Johann Georg BRECHTELSBAUER, a renowned clockmaker and inventor who lived in the city of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the late 18th century. He is credited with developing innovative timepiece mechanisms and is considered a pioneer in the field of clockmaking.
In the 19th century, the BRECHTELSBAUER name gained further prominence with the birth of Karl BRECHTELSBAUER, a German artist and painter who was renowned for his landscapes and portraits. He was born in 1819 in the town of Bamberg, Bavaria, and his works were widely acclaimed during his lifetime.
As the industrialization and urbanization of Germany progressed, many BRECHTELSBAUER families migrated from rural areas to cities in search of employment opportunities. This led to the name becoming more widely distributed throughout Germany and neighboring countries.
Another notable individual with the BRECHTELSBAUER surname was Elfriede BRECHTELSBAUER, a German writer and poet who was born in 1920 in the city of Munich. Her works often explored themes of identity, belonging, and the human condition, and she was regarded as one of the most influential literary voices of her generation.
While the BRECHTELSBAUER name has its roots in the rural communities of Bavaria and Austria, it has since spread across the globe, with families carrying this surname found in various countries and cultures. However, its origins remain firmly rooted in the rich heritage and history of the German-speaking regions of Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brechtelsbauer
Among Census respondents with the surname Brechtelsbauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Brechtelsbauer 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 Brechtelsbauer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 91
- Two or more races4.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brechtelsbauer
Brechtelsbauer 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,326 places
2020
#156,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 97
-6 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 785 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 12,326 places |
| 2020 | #156,449 | 97 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.8%) | Up 785 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 Brechtelsbauer 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 | #156,449 | 0.5% |
| Count | 103 | 97 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brechtelsbauer bearers went from 103 to 97 (-5.8% change). The surname moved up 785 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #156,449.
FAQ
Brechtelsbauer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brechtelsbauer?
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the surname Brechtelsbauer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,087,877 residents.
How common is Brechtelsbauer?
Brechtelsbauer ranks #156,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 97 people with the surname Brechtelsbauer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Brechtelsbauer.
Has Brechtelsbauer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brechtelsbauer went from 103 recorded bearers to 97. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #156,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Brechtelsbauer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brechtelsbauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Brechtelsbauer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brechtelsbauer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Brechtelsbauer (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 Brechtelsbauer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of Bretzel or pretzel pastries. 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 Brechtelsbauer (0.03 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 Brechtelsbauer?
Find out how many people have the surname Brechtelsbauer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.