2000
#5,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.96
Rare Last name
Brehm
A German toponymic surname indicating someone who lived by a flat, open place or river meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,792 Americans carry the last name Brehm. That puts it at #6,467 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,177 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brehm 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
5.8K
1 in 59,177
Census rank
#6,467
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,051 bearers of the surname Brehm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6467th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brehm, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brehm
Among Census respondents with the surname Brehm, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Brehm 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 Brehm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 4,637
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 208
- Two or more races2.6% · 133
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brehm
Brehm 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
#6,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,282
-6 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Down 434 places
2020
#6,467
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,051
-231 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.69
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,997 | 5,288 | 1.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,431 | 5,282 | 1.79 | -6 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 434 places |
| 2020 | #6,467 | 5,051 | 1.69 | -231 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 36 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 Brehm 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 | #6,431 | #6,467 | -0.6% |
| Count | 5,282 | 5,051 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.69 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brehm bearers went from 5,282 to 5,051 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,431 to #6,467.
FAQ
Brehm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brehm?
Name Census estimates that about 5,792 living Americans carry the surname Brehm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,177 residents.
How common is Brehm?
Brehm ranks #6,467 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,051 people with the surname Brehm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,792), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Brehm.
Has Brehm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brehm went from 5,282 recorded bearers to 5,051. That is a decrease of 231 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,431 to #6,467.
What does the Census say about the background of Brehm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brehm, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and 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 Brehm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (4,637 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brehm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (4.1%), 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 Brehm (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 Brehm mean?
A German toponymic surname indicating someone who lived by a flat, open place or river meadow. 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 Brehm (1.69 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 Americans have the surname Brehm?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.