2000
#14,563
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,876
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Broaddus
A surname of English origin, derived from a place name meaning "broad-ridge" or "wide-ridge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,069 Americans carry the last name Broaddus. That puts it at #15,592 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,662 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Broaddus 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
2.1K
1 in 165,662
Census rank
#15,592
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,804 bearers of the surname Broaddus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15592nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Broaddus, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Broaddus
The surname Broaddus is believed to have originated in England, possibly in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to be a variant of the Old English place name "Broad Hos," which referred to a broad or expansive area of land. The earliest known records of the name appear in various parish registers and census records from the 17th and 18th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Broaddus can be found in the Hertfordshire Parish Registers, where a William Broaddus was baptized in the village of Cheshunt in 1635. Another early record is from the Oxfordshire Parish Registers, which lists the marriage of a John Broaddus and Elizabeth Weston in the village of Kirtlington in 1682.
In the late 17th century, the Broaddus family began to spread across various parts of England, with branches of the family settling in counties such as Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Dorset. During this time, the name was also occasionally spelled as "Broadus" or "Broadhus," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling that were common in those days.
One notable early bearer of the name was Robert Broaddus, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the village of Swindon in Wiltshire during the late 17th century. Records indicate that he was involved in the wool trade and owned several properties in the area.
In the 18th century, several members of the Broaddus family emigrated from England to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is found in the Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants, which lists a John Broaddus as receiving a land grant in Goochland County, Virginia, in 1725.
Another notable figure from this era was Edmund Broaddus, a Baptist minister and educator who lived in Virginia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in 1768 and played a significant role in the development of the Baptist church in the state, founding several churches and serving as a professor at the Columbian College (now known as George Washington University) in Washington, D.C.
In the 19th century, the Broaddus family continued to spread across various parts of the United States, with members of the family becoming involved in various professions and industries. One notable example is William F. Broaddus, a lawyer and politician from Virginia who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1853.
Throughout its history, the Broaddus surname has been carried by a diverse range of individuals, from merchants and landowners to ministers and politicians. While the name may have originated in a specific region of England, it has since become dispersed across various parts of the world, reflecting the migration patterns and histories of those who have borne this distinctive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Broaddus
Among Census respondents with the surname Broaddus, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Broaddus 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 Broaddus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.8% · 1,331
- Black or African American15.9% · 286
- Two or more races5.7% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Broaddus
Broaddus 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
#15,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,954
+78 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 536 places
2020
#15,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,804
-150 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 493 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,563 | 1,876 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,099 | 1,954 | 0.66 | +78 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 536 places |
| 2020 | #15,592 | 1,804 | 0.60 | -150 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 493 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 Broaddus 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 | #15,099 | #15,592 | -3.3% |
| Count | 1,954 | 1,804 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.60 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Broaddus bearers went from 1,954 to 1,804 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 493 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,099 to #15,592.
FAQ
Broaddus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Broaddus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,069 living Americans carry the surname Broaddus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,662 residents.
How common is Broaddus?
Broaddus ranks #15,592 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,804 people with the surname Broaddus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,069), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Broaddus.
Has Broaddus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Broaddus went from 1,954 recorded bearers to 1,804. That is a decrease of 150 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,099 to #15,592.
What does the Census say about the background of Broaddus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Broaddus, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Broaddus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (1,331 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Broaddus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.8%), Black (15.9%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Broaddus (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 Broaddus mean?
A surname of English origin, derived from a place name meaning "broad-ridge" or "wide-ridge." 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 Broaddus (0.60 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 have the surname Broaddus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.