2000
#11,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,471
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Brickner
A toponymic surname indicating someone who lived near a place where bricks were made or sold.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,840 Americans carry the last name Brickner. That puts it at #12,031 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,688 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brickner 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
2.8K
1 in 120,688
Census rank
#12,031
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,477 bearers of the surname Brickner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12031st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brickner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brickner
The surname Brickner is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "bricke," meaning "bridge." It is believed to have originated in the 14th or 15th century and was likely an occupational name for someone who lived or worked near a bridge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brickner can be found in the Heidelberg Municipal Archives, where a certain Johannes Brickner is mentioned in a document dated 1432. Another early reference is from the town of Mannheim, where a Hans Brickner is listed in the town's records in 1498.
The name Brickner may also be related to the German place name Bricken, a village in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. It is possible that some early bearers of the name hailed from this area or a similar location with a name derived from the word "bricke."
Notable individuals with the surname Brickner include Johann Brickner (1625-1690), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach. Another person of historical significance was Friedrich Brickner (1780-1856), a German architect known for his work on several prominent buildings in Berlin.
In the 19th century, a family of Brickners were prominent in the field of medicine. August Brickner (1847-1912) was a German physician and professor of surgery, while his son, Walter Brickner (1876-1945), was a renowned psychiatrist and author who practiced in New York City.
Another individual worth mentioning is Gerhard Brickner (1902-1985), an Austrian-American artist and sculptor who immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and became known for his abstract works and public art installations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brickner
Among Census respondents with the surname Brickner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Brickner 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 Brickner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 2,301
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 74
- Two or more races2.6% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- Black or African American0.6% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brickner
Brickner 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
#11,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,619
+148 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 298 places
2020
#12,031
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,477
-142 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 91 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,642 | 2,471 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,940 | 2,619 | 0.89 | +148 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 298 places |
| 2020 | #12,031 | 2,477 | 0.83 | -142 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 91 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 Brickner 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 | #11,940 | #12,031 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,619 | 2,477 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.83 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brickner bearers went from 2,619 to 2,477 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 91 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,940 to #12,031.
FAQ
Brickner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brickner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,840 living Americans carry the surname Brickner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,688 residents.
How common is Brickner?
Brickner ranks #12,031 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,477 people with the surname Brickner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,840), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Brickner.
Has Brickner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brickner went from 2,619 recorded bearers to 2,477. That is a decrease of 142 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,940 to #12,031.
What does the Census say about the background of Brickner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brickner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) 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 Brickner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (2,301 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brickner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.0%), 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 Brickner (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 Brickner mean?
A toponymic surname indicating someone who lived near a place where bricks were made or sold. 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 Brickner (0.83 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 Brickner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.