2000
#6,054
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,227
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.94
Rare Last name
Brinker
Occupational surname for a person who makes or sells bricks, or a topographic name for someone living near a brick kiln.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,935 Americans carry the last name Brinker. That puts it at #6,312 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,751 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brinker 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
5.9K
1 in 57,751
Census rank
#6,312
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,176 bearers of the surname Brinker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6312th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brinker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brinker
The surname Brinker has its origins in the Low German language and is believed to have originated in the region of Northern Germany. It is derived from the occupational term "brinkener" or "brinker," which referred to a person who lived near a brook, stream, or small body of water.
In the Middle Ages, the name was commonly used to identify individuals based on their proximity to a particular geographic feature, such as a body of water or a prominent landmark. This practice was prevalent in many parts of Europe, including Germany, where surnames were often derived from descriptive terms related to a person's occupation, physical characteristics, or place of residence.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Brinker can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in various historical documents from the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia in Northern Germany. It is important to note that the spelling of the name may have varied slightly in these early records due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time.
One notable individual bearing the surname Brinker was Albert Brinker, a German merchant and trader who lived in the late 15th century. He is mentioned in several records from the city of Lübeck, which was a major trading hub in the Hanseatic League during that period.
Another historical figure with the surname Brinker was Henning Brinker, a prominent landowner and nobleman from the region of Mecklenburg in Northern Germany. He lived in the 16th century and is mentioned in various land records and legal documents from that time.
In the 17th century, a man named Johannes Brinker was a renowned clockmaker and watchmaker in the city of Hamburg. His intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the wealthy and noble classes of the time.
Moving into the 18th century, Hans Brinker was a Dutch artist known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the Netherlands. He was born in Amsterdam in 1738 and died in 1804.
Finally, in the 19th century, a German author and poet named Wilhelm Brinker gained recognition for his works celebrating the beauty of nature and the rural landscapes of Northern Germany. He was born in 1822 in the town of Bredenbeck and passed away in 1892.
These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname Brinker who have left their mark on history over the centuries, highlighting the rich and diverse heritage associated with this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brinker
Among Census respondents with the surname Brinker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Brinker 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 Brinker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 4,682
- Black or African American3.7% · 190
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 146
- Two or more races2.5% · 130
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brinker
Brinker 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
#5,992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,736
+509 bearers (+9.7%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Up 62 places
2020
#6,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,176
-560 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Down 320 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,054 | 5,227 | 1.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,992 | 5,736 | 1.94 | +509 bearers (+9.7%) | Up 62 places |
| 2020 | #6,312 | 5,176 | 1.73 | -560 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 320 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 Brinker 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 | #5,992 | #6,312 | -5.3% |
| Count | 5,736 | 5,176 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.94 | 1.73 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brinker bearers went from 5,736 to 5,176 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 320 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,992 to #6,312.
FAQ
Brinker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brinker?
Name Census estimates that about 5,935 living Americans carry the surname Brinker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,751 residents.
How common is Brinker?
Brinker ranks #6,312 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,176 people with the surname Brinker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,935), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Brinker.
Has Brinker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brinker went from 5,736 recorded bearers to 5,176. That is a decrease of 560 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,992 to #6,312.
What does the Census say about the background of Brinker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brinker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Brinker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (4,682 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brinker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Black (3.7%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Brinker (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 Brinker mean?
Occupational surname for a person who makes or sells bricks, or a topographic name for someone living near a brick kiln. 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 Brinker (1.73 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 people are called Brinker?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Brinker on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.