2010
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brodak
A surname derived from the Polish word "brod" meaning "ford" or "shallow river crossing."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Brodak. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brodak 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Brodak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodak, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brodak
The surname Brodak originated in Poland in the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "bród," meaning "ford" or a shallow area in a river, combined with the suffix "-ak," which indicates a person or thing associated with the root word. Therefore, the name likely referred to someone who lived near a ford or worked as a ford-keeper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brodak can be found in the records of the town of Krakow, where a blacksmith named Jan Brodak was mentioned in 1587. The name also appears in various parish registers and tax records from the 17th and 18th centuries in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia.
In the late 18th century, the Brodak family was granted noble status by the Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski. One notable member of this noble line was Franciszek Brodak (1768-1842), a prominent lawyer and landowner who served as a judge in the Galician courts during the Austrian partition of Poland.
Another historical figure bearing the surname Brodak was Tomasz Brodak (1821-1898), a Polish painter and art teacher who studied at the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. His works, primarily landscapes and portraits, can be found in various museums and private collections across Poland.
In the 20th century, the name gained international recognition through the achievements of Mieczysław Brodak (1923-2004), a Polish-born mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of functional analysis and operator theory. He held academic positions at universities in Poland, Germany, and the United States.
Another notable figure was Wojciech Brodak (1935-2017), a Polish actor and theatre director who performed in numerous stage productions and films throughout his career. He was particularly acclaimed for his roles in several adaptations of works by renowned Polish writers, such as Stanisław Wyspiański and Witold Gombrowicz.
The surname Brodak, while not among the most common in Poland, has a rich history dating back several centuries and has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including nobility, artists, scholars, and performers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brodak
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodak, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Brodak 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 Brodak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 11
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brodak
Brodak 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
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-10 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,048 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 10,048 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 Brodak 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 | #140,157 | #150,205 | -7.2% |
| Count | 119 | 109 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brodak bearers went from 119 to 109 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 10,048 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #150,205.
FAQ
Brodak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brodak?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Brodak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Brodak?
Brodak ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Brodak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Brodak.
Has Brodak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brodak went from 119 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Brodak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodak, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Brodak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brodak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Hispanic (10.1%), Two or More Races (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 Brodak (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 Brodak mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "brod" meaning "ford" or "shallow river crossing." 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 Brodak (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 are called Brodak?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Brodak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.