2000
#13,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,137
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Brinegar
An English occupational surname for a person who made or sold bridles and other horse tack.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,355 Americans carry the last name Brinegar. That puts it at #14,048 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,543 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brinegar 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 145,543
Census rank
#14,048
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,054 bearers of the surname Brinegar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14048th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brinegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brinegar
The surname Brinegar is of German origin, deriving from the Old High German words "brinnen" meaning "to burn" and "gart" meaning "enclosure" or "garden." It is likely that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a burned or cleared area of land.
The earliest recorded instances of the Brinegar name can be traced back to the 13th century in the region of Bavaria, Germany. In medieval times, the name was often spelled as "Brinnegarte" or "Brinnengarten."
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Brinegar was Hans Brinnegarter, a landowner in the town of Augsburg, Bavaria, who lived in the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the Brinegar name appeared in records from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in present-day Bavaria, Germany. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Brinegar (1512-1578), a master weaver, and his son, Matthias Brinegar (1549-1621), a respected merchant.
As the Brinegar family spread throughout Germany and other parts of Europe, different spellings of the name emerged, such as "Brinnegar," "Brinegar," and "Brinegar." One prominent individual was Friedrich Brinegar (1685-1748), a renowned clockmaker from Nuremberg, Germany.
In the 18th century, some members of the Brinegar family emigrated to the American colonies, and the name can be found in early records from Pennsylvania and Maryland. One of the earliest known Brinegars in America was Johann Adam Brinegar (1725-1798), who settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the 1750s.
Another notable individual was John Brinegar (1789-1864), a farmer and businessman from Virginia, who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in the early 19th century.
Throughout its history, the Brinegar surname has been associated with various occupations, including artisans, merchants, farmers, and public servants. While not a particularly common name, the Brinegar family has left its mark in various regions of Germany, as well as in the United States and other parts of the world where their descendants have settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brinegar
Among Census respondents with the surname Brinegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Brinegar 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 Brinegar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 1,894
- Two or more races3.6% · 74
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brinegar
Brinegar 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
#13,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,250
+113 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 378 places
2020
#14,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,054
-196 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 551 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,119 | 2,137 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,497 | 2,250 | 0.76 | +113 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 378 places |
| 2020 | #14,048 | 2,054 | 0.69 | -196 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 551 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 Brinegar 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 | #13,497 | #14,048 | -4.1% |
| Count | 2,250 | 2,054 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.69 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brinegar bearers went from 2,250 to 2,054 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 551 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,497 to #14,048.
FAQ
Brinegar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brinegar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,355 living Americans carry the surname Brinegar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,543 residents.
How common is Brinegar?
Brinegar ranks #14,048 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,054 people with the surname Brinegar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Brinegar.
Has Brinegar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brinegar went from 2,250 recorded bearers to 2,054. That is a decrease of 196 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,497 to #14,048.
What does the Census say about the background of Brinegar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brinegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Brinegar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (1,894 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brinegar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Brinegar (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 Brinegar mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who made or sold bridles and other horse tack. 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 Brinegar (0.69 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 Brinegar?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.