2000
#43,290
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 470
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Brockhoff
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the elements brook and hoff (courtyard or farm).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 516 Americans carry the last name Brockhoff. That puts it at #50,251 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 664,253 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brockhoff 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
516
1 in 664,253
Census rank
#50,251
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
450
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 450 bearers of the surname Brockhoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 50251st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brockhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brockhoff
The surname Brockhoff originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the old German words "brok" meaning "brook" or "small stream" and "hof" meaning "homestead" or "farm." This suggests the name was initially given to someone who lived near a small stream or in a farmstead located close to a brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brockhoff is found in the parish records of the town of Bielefeld in the region of Westphalia, dated 1587. The name appears as "Brokhoff" in these records, indicating a slight variation in spelling from the modern form.
During the 17th century, the name Brockhoff began to appear in various regions of Germany, including the states of Saxony and Brandenburg. In 1648, a man named Johann Brockhoff is mentioned in the records of the town of Zittau, located in present-day Saxony.
As the name spread across different regions, variations in spelling emerged, such as Brockhove, Brockhoven, and Brockhoffen. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and the preference of scribes who recorded the names.
One notable historical figure with the surname Brockhoff was Johann Friedrich Brockhoff, a German composer and organist born in 1719 in the town of Mölln, located in the present-day state of Schleswig-Holstein. He is known for his compositions for organ and church music.
Another notable individual was Carl Brockhoff, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1768 to 1835. He was renowned for his landscapes and architectural paintings, particularly those depicting scenes from the city of Dresden.
In the 19th century, the surname Brockhoff gained prominence in the field of education. Friedrich Wilhelm Brockhoff, born in 1807 in Hanover, was a renowned educator and author of several textbooks on mathematics and pedagogy.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the name Brockhoff appeared in records from the United States, indicating that some individuals with this surname had emigrated from Germany to America during that period.
One such individual was August Brockhoff, a German-born businessman who established the Brockhoff Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1882. The brewery remained in operation until the early 20th century.
While the surname Brockhoff is of German origin, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including other European countries and the Americas, due to migration and the dispersal of families over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brockhoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Brockhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Brockhoff 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 Brockhoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 419
- Two or more races3.6% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brockhoff
Brockhoff 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
#47,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 450
-20 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 3,896 places
2020
#50,251
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 450
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 3,065 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,290 | 470 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #47,186 | 450 | 0.15 | -20 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 3,896 places |
| 2020 | #50,251 | 450 | 0.15 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 3,065 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 Brockhoff 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 | #47,186 | #50,251 | -6.5% |
| Count | 450 | 450 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brockhoff bearers went from 450 to 450 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 3,065 positions in the national ranking, going from #47,186 to #50,251.
FAQ
Brockhoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brockhoff?
Name Census estimates that about 516 living Americans carry the surname Brockhoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 664,253 residents.
How common is Brockhoff?
Brockhoff ranks #50,251 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 450 people with the surname Brockhoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (516), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Brockhoff.
Has Brockhoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brockhoff went from 450 recorded bearers to 450. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #47,186 to #50,251.
What does the Census say about the background of Brockhoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brockhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Brockhoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (419 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brockhoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Brockhoff (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 Brockhoff mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the elements brook and hoff (courtyard or farm). 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 Brockhoff (0.15 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 Brockhoff?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.