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

Brehm, 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 Brehm surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brehm in America

Brehm is the 6431st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brehm surname appeared 5,282 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Brehm.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brehm 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 Brehm

The surname Brehm is of German origin, originating from the Low German word 'brame' meaning 'bramble'. It is believed to have first emerged as an occupational name for someone who lived near a bramble bush or worked with brambles.

In its earliest recorded form, the name was spelled 'Brame' in the 13th century. Over time, various spelling variations emerged, including Brehm, Bräme, Breme, and Bram. These variations were likely influenced by regional dialects and the evolving standardization of the German language.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brehm can be found in the Annales Herbipolenses, a medieval chronicle from the city of Würzburg, dating back to the 13th century. The chronicle mentions a person named 'Brame' who was a member of the local nobility.

In the 15th century, the name Brehm appeared in several documents from the Palatinate region of Germany, including records of landowners and merchants. One notable bearer of the name during this time was Hans Brehm, a wealthy merchant from Heidelberg who was born around 1430.

As the name spread across Germany, it became associated with various professions and social classes. In the 16th century, a Christian Brehm was a prominent Protestant reformer and theologian in Saxony. In the 17th century, Johann Philipp Brehm was a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Hesse.

The 18th century saw the emergence of several notable individuals with the Brehm surname. Christian Ludwig Brehm (1787-1864) was a German pastor and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of birds. His son, Alfred Edmund Brehm (1829-1884), was an equally renowned zoologist and writer, best known for his influential work "Illustrirtes Thierleben" (Illustrated Animal Life).

In the 19th century, the Brehm name gained further prominence with individuals like Hermann Brehmer (1826-1889), a German physician who pioneered the concept of sanatorium treatment for tuberculosis patients.

Other notable figures with the surname Brehm include the German-American architect John Brehm (1849-1917), who designed several important buildings in New York City, and the German writer and philosopher Bruno Brehm (1892-1976), known for his works on ethics and philosophy of science.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brehm

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

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

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

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