2000
#12,883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,190
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Brickhouse
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived in a house made of bricks or masonry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,391 Americans carry the last name Brickhouse. That puts it at #13,876 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,352 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brickhouse 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
2.4K
1 in 143,352
Census rank
#13,876
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,085 bearers of the surname Brickhouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13876th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brickhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.1%. The next largest groups are Black (43.3%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brickhouse
The surname BRICKHOUSE finds its origins in England, with roots dating back to the 13th century. It is a locational name, derived from the Old English words "bric" meaning brick and "hus" meaning house, likely referring to a dwelling constructed primarily from brick material.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, a census-like document from 1273, which mentions a John de Brichouse. This suggests that the name was already established in the region at that time.
During the Middle Ages, the surname BRICKHOUSE was predominantly concentrated in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, where many early bearers of the name can be traced. Notable individuals from this period include William Brickhouse, a landowner in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, whose name appears in the Court Rolls of 1379.
As the centuries progressed, the name spread to other parts of England, with various spelling variations emerging, such as Brickhowse, Brickhous, and Brickhouse. In the 16th century, records show a Thomas Brickhouse who was a merchant in London, born in 1542.
Across the Atlantic, one of the earliest known bearers of the BRICKHOUSE name in the American colonies was William Brickhouse, who settled in Virginia in the late 17th century. His descendants played a significant role in the early development of the Virginia colony.
Another notable figure was Sir John Brickhouse (1675-1744), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Tamworth from 1708 to 1722.
In the 19th century, the BRICKHOUSE name gained prominence with individuals such as Benjamin Brickhouse (1825-1891), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Virginia, and Mary Brickhouse (1857-1932), an educator and advocate for women's rights in North Carolina.
Throughout history, the surname BRICKHOUSE has been associated with various professions, from landowners and merchants to politicians and educators, reflecting the diverse paths taken by those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brickhouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Brickhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.1%. The next largest groups are Black (43.3%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Brickhouse 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 Brickhouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.1% · 1,003
- Black or African American43.3% · 902
- Two or more races5.5% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brickhouse
Brickhouse 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
#13,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,331
+141 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 250 places
2020
#13,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,085
-246 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 743 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,883 | 2,190 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,133 | 2,331 | 0.79 | +141 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 250 places |
| 2020 | #13,876 | 2,085 | 0.70 | -246 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 743 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 Brickhouse 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 | #13,133 | #13,876 | -5.7% |
| Count | 2,331 | 2,085 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.70 | -11.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brickhouse bearers went from 2,331 to 2,085 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 743 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,133 to #13,876.
FAQ
Brickhouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brickhouse?
Name Census estimates that about 2,391 living Americans carry the surname Brickhouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,352 residents.
How common is Brickhouse?
Brickhouse ranks #13,876 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,085 people with the surname Brickhouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,391), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Brickhouse.
Has Brickhouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brickhouse went from 2,331 recorded bearers to 2,085. That is a decrease of 246 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,133 to #13,876.
What does the Census say about the background of Brickhouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brickhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.1%. The next largest groups are Black (43.3%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Brickhouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.1% (1,003 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brickhouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.1%), Black (43.3%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Brickhouse (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 Brickhouse mean?
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived in a house made of bricks or masonry. 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 Brickhouse (0.70 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 common is the surname Brickhouse?
See how many people are called Brickhouse on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.