2000
#3,934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,294
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.07
Rare Last name
Brittain
A locational surname referring to someone from Brittany, France or Great Britain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,180 Americans carry the last name Brittain. That puts it at #4,288 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,337 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brittain 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Brittain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.2K
1 in 37,337
Census rank
#4,288
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,005 bearers of the surname Brittain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4288th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brittain, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brittain
The surname Brittain has its origins in England and is a locational name derived from the place name Brittain, which comes from the Old English words 'Briten' and 'inn,' meaning "the dweller at the Briton settlement." The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appeared as 'Britteyn.'
The name is believed to have originated in the county of Devon, where there are several villages and parishes bearing the name Brittain or variations of it, such as Brittain Tracy and Brittain Clovelly. These place names likely refer to settlements established by Britons, the Celtic inhabitants of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard de Brittain, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1212. Another early record is that of William de Brittain, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.
The surname Brittain has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous was Richard Brittain (c. 1490-1558), an English Protestant reformer and martyr who was burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary I for his religious beliefs.
Another prominent bearer of the name was John Brittain (1653-1714), an English mathematician and astronomer who is best known for his work on the calculation of comets' orbits and his contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
In the literary world, John Brittain (1918-1993) was a British playwright and screenwriter whose works included the play "Delicate Balance" and the screenplay for the film "The Day of the Triffids."
Sir Harry Brittain (1873-1974) was a British naval officer and politician who served as a member of parliament and held the position of First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I.
More recently, Vera Brittain (1893-1970) was a British writer and pacifist who is best known for her memoir "Testament of Youth," which chronicled her experiences during World War I and the loss of her fiancé and several close friends in the conflict.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brittain
Among Census respondents with the surname Brittain, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Brittain 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 Brittain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 6,916
- Two or more races4.6% · 367
- Black or African American4.3% · 345
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 282
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brittain
Brittain 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
#4,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,671
+377 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.94
Rank movement Down 162 places
2020
#4,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,005
-666 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 2.68
Rank movement Down 192 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,934 | 8,294 | 3.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,096 | 8,671 | 2.94 | +377 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 162 places |
| 2020 | #4,288 | 8,005 | 2.68 | -666 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 192 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 Brittain 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 | #4,096 | #4,288 | -4.7% |
| Count | 8,671 | 8,005 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.94 | 2.68 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brittain bearers went from 8,671 to 8,005 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 192 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,096 to #4,288.
FAQ
Brittain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brittain?
Name Census estimates that about 9,180 living Americans carry the surname Brittain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,337 residents.
How common is Brittain?
Brittain ranks #4,288 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,005 people with the surname Brittain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,180), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Brittain.
Has Brittain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brittain went from 8,671 recorded bearers to 8,005. That is a decrease of 666 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,096 to #4,288.
What does the Census say about the background of Brittain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brittain, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (4.3%). 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 Brittain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (6,916 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brittain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (4.3%). 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 Brittain (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 Brittain mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Brittany, France or Great Britain. 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 Brittain (2.68 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 Brittain?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Brittain at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.