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

Breslau, 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 Breslau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Breslau in America

Breslau is the 89069th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Breslau surname appeared 208 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Breslau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Breslau 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 Breslau

The surname Breslau originated in the region of Silesia, which is now part of Poland but was historically a part of Germany. The name derives from the city of Breslau, which is the German name for the city now known as Wroclaw in Poland.

The name Breslau likely emerged during the Middle Ages when surnames began to become more common in Europe. It is believed to come from the Slavic word "Wratislavia," which referred to the city's location on the Oder River.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Breslau can be found in German and Silesian records from the 14th and 15th centuries. For example, a Johannes Breslau is mentioned in a document from the city of Breslau in 1389.

The surname Breslau was particularly prominent among Jewish families who lived in the city of Breslau during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. One notable individual was David Breslau (1540-1616), a Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived in Breslau.

Another significant figure with the Breslau surname was Johann Samuel Breslau (1701-1765), a German composer and organist who was born in Breslau.

In the 19th century, the Breslau family included several notable writers and intellectuals, such as Heinrich Breslau (1814-1889), a German historian and writer who published works on the history of Silesia.

One of the most famous individuals with the Breslau surname was Harry Breslau (1904-1990), an American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.

Despite its German origins, the Breslau surname can also be found among families from other parts of Europe and even in the United States, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Breslau

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

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

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

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