2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brehl
A surname derived from the German word "Brill" meaning spectacles or eyeglasses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Brehl. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brehl 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Brehl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brehl
The surname BREHL is of German origin, originating in the medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "breheln," which meant "to bray" or "to make a loud noise." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone who had a particularly loud voice or made loud noises.
The earliest recorded instances of the BREHL surname can be traced back to the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Some of the earliest known bearers of this name include Johannes Brehl, born in 1412 in Augsburg, and Konrad Brehl, a farmer from the village of Rohrbach, mentioned in a land registry from 1487.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the BREHL name appeared in various historical documents and records across southern Germany. For instance, the Augsburg City Archives contain references to a merchant family named Brehl who were active in the city's textile trade. Additionally, the village of Brehlsbach in Baden-Württemberg is believed to have been named after a local landowner with the surname BREHL.
One of the earliest notable figures with this surname was Johann Brehl (1492-1564), a German theologian and reformer from Nuremberg. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. Another prominent bearer of the name was Philipp Brehl (1675-1743), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician for the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg.
In the 19th century, the BREHL name gained further recognition with the birth of Gustav Brehl (1817-1892), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscape and architectural works. His contemporaries included Johann Brehl (1828-1890), a German writer and poet from Mainz, and Karl Brehl (1861-1932), a German politician and member of the Reichstag.
As the BREHL family dispersed throughout Germany and beyond, the name took on various spellings and variations, such as Brehle, Braehl, and Brehler. While there are instances of the name appearing in historical records from other European countries, its origins and primary concentration remain firmly rooted in Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brehl
Among Census respondents with the surname Brehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Brehl 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 Brehl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 109
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brehl
Brehl 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+8 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,521 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-11 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 1,521 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 11,142 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 Brehl 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 | #138,304 | #149,446 | -8.1% |
| Count | 121 | 110 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brehl bearers went from 121 to 110 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 11,142 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #149,446.
FAQ
Brehl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brehl?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Brehl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Brehl?
Brehl ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Brehl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Brehl.
Has Brehl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brehl went from 121 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Brehl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Brehl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brehl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Brehl (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 Brehl mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Brill" meaning spectacles or eyeglasses. 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 Brehl (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 are called Brehl?
See how many people are called Brehl on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.