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

Brenneman, 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 Brenneman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brenneman in America

Brenneman is the 6094th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brenneman surname appeared 5,629 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 Brenneman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brenneman 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 Brenneman

The surname Brenneman originated from Germany and Switzerland, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is a locational name derived from the village or town of Brennen, which means "to burn" or "to clear land by burning" in German.

In the 13th century, the name Brenneman was documented as Brennemann in various German records and manuscripts. This early spelling variation highlights the name's connection to the practice of clearing land through burning, a common method used by settlers and farmers at the time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brenneman can be found in the Pomeranian town of Kolberg, where a certain Johann Brenneman was mentioned in a church registry dating back to 1478. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the Brenneman family was well-established in the canton of Bern by the 16th century.

Notable individuals with the surname Brenneman include Johann Georg Brenneman (1668-1734), a German Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony. In the United States, Jacob Brenneman (1785-1857) was a prominent Mennonite leader and minister from Pennsylvania, who played a significant role in shaping the religious community's beliefs and practices.

Another noteworthy figure was William Brenneman (1834-1924), an American businessman and industrialist from Ohio, known for his contributions to the development of the agricultural machinery industry. In the field of education, Ida Brenneman (1868-1944) was a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights, serving as the first female principal of the State Normal School in Millersville, Pennsylvania.

Additionally, the Brenneman name has been associated with various place names and locations throughout history. For instance, the village of Brenneman in Ontario, Canada, was named after one of the early settlers bearing this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brenneman

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!