2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brittnacher
British army follower or worker
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Brittnacher. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brittnacher 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Brittnacher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brittnacher, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brittnacher
The surname Brittnacher is believed to have originated in Germany, likely during the medieval period or earlier. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "breit" meaning "broad" and "nach" meaning "valley" or "stream". This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a broad valley or stream, potentially indicating the location where the family originated.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brittnacher can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. This suggests that the name was present in the region during that time period.
In the 15th century, there are records of a Konrad Brittnacher who was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Nuremberg. He was born around 1420 and passed away in 1492.
Another notable individual with this surname was Johann Brittnacher, a Lutheran theologian and author who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Strasbourg in 1525 and died in 1598. His works include several theological treatises and commentaries on biblical texts.
During the 17th century, a family by the name of Brittnacher settled in the region of Palatinate, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Among them was Hans Brittnacher, a successful farmer and vintner who was born in 1632 and died in 1703.
In the 18th century, the Brittnacher name appeared in records from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria. One individual named Michael Brittnacher, born in 1745 and died in 1821, was a respected craftsman and woodcarver who contributed to the town's architectural heritage.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Brittnacher, a scholar and educator who lived in the 19th century. Born in 1810 in Heidelberg, he spent his career as a professor of literature and languages at various universities across Germany, publishing several academic works before his death in 1887.
While the Brittnacher surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, often through immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brittnacher
Among Census respondents with the surname Brittnacher, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Brittnacher 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 Brittnacher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 106
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brittnacher
Brittnacher appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+6 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,815 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 5,815 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 Brittnacher 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 | #153,769 | #147,954 | 3.8% |
| Count | 106 | 112 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brittnacher bearers went from 106 to 112 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 5,815 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #147,954.
FAQ
Brittnacher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brittnacher?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Brittnacher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Brittnacher?
Brittnacher ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 112 people with the surname Brittnacher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Brittnacher.
Has Brittnacher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brittnacher went from 106 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 6 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Brittnacher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brittnacher, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Brittnacher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brittnacher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Brittnacher (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 Brittnacher mean?
British army follower or worker 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 Brittnacher (0.04 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 share the surname Brittnacher?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.