Brodbeck last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Brodbeck is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brodbeck.

Meaning of Brodbeck

A German surname derived from words meaning "wide" and "brook".

Brodbeck, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brodbeck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brodbeck in America

Brodbeck is the 17323rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brodbeck surname appeared 1,632 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Brodbeck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brodbeck to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank17323163265.93%
Count1,6321,6250.43%
Proportion per 100k0.550.60-8.70%

The history of the last name Brodbeck

The surname Brodbeck originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Bavaria. It can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 13th century. Brodbeck is derived from the Old German words "brot," meaning bread, and "becken," meaning baker. Thus, Brodbeck was an occupational surname given to those who baked bread for a living.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brodbeck can be found in the town records of Augsburg, dated 1327, where a certain Johannes Brodbeck is mentioned as a baker and resident of the town. The name also appears in various other medieval documents and records from southern Germany, with spellings such as Brodpeck, Brotbeck, and Brodtbeck.

In the 16th century, the Brodbeck family gained prominence in the city of Nuremberg, where they were involved in the baking trade and local politics. Hans Brodbeck (1495-1567) was a respected baker and served as a member of the city council. His son, Jakob Brodbeck (1525-1592), was a renowned mathematician and cartographer, known for his work on map projections.

Another notable figure with the surname Brodbeck was Johann Brodbeck (1670-1742), a German painter and engraver from Augsburg. His works, which included religious scenes and portraits, were highly regarded during his lifetime and can be found in various museums and collections across Europe.

In the 19th century, the Brodbeck family spread beyond Germany, with some members emigrating to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Karl Brodbeck (1804-1878), a German-born farmer and pioneer who settled in Ohio, United States, in the 1830s and became a prominent figure in the local community.

Throughout history, the surname Brodbeck has been associated with various professions, including bakers, artists, mathematicians, and farmers. Its origins as an occupational name reflect the importance of bread and baking in medieval German society, and the surname continues to be carried by numerous individuals around the world today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brodbeck

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brodbeck.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brodbeck was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only95.53%1,559
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only0.86%14
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races1.23%20
Hispanic Origin1.90%31

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brodbeck has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White95.53%96.43%-0.94%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander0.86%0.92%-6.74%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races1.23%0.86%35.41%
Hispanic1.90%1.60%17.14%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Brodbeck was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brodbeck, please contact us.

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