2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brodish
A surname derived from the German word "Brot," meaning bread, possibly referring to a baker or someone associated with the bread trade.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 107 Americans carry the last name Brodish. That puts it at #156,616 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,203,312 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brodish 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
107
1 in 3,203,312
Census rank
#156,616
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
93
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 93 bearers of the surname Brodish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156616th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodish, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brodish
The surname Brodish has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in the areas that are now known as Poland and Ukraine. It is believed to have originated sometime around the 12th or 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Slavic word "brod," which means "ford" or "crossing," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived near a river or stream crossing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brodish can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Krakow, Poland. This document mentions a certain "Jan Brodish," who was a merchant and landowner in the region. Another early reference to the name comes from a 16th-century census record in the town of Lviv (formerly known as Lemberg), where a family by the name of Brodish is listed among the local residents.
In the late 15th century, a man named Jakub Brodish (c. 1460-1525) gained prominence as a skilled blacksmith and metalworker in the town of Bydgoszcz, Poland. His intricate ironwork can still be seen adorning the gates and railings of several historic buildings in the town.
During the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the Brodish surname was Stanislaw Brodish (1605-1678), a Catholic priest and scholar who authored several theological texts and served as a professor at the University of Krakow.
In the late 18th century, a Ukrainian Cossack named Petro Brodish (c. 1770-1835) gained fame for his role in the resistance against Russian imperial forces. He is celebrated as a hero in Ukrainian folklore and has been the subject of numerous literary works and folk songs.
Another historical figure worth mentioning is Oleksandr Brodish (1821-1897), a renowned Ukrainian writer and playwright who wrote several acclaimed plays and novels that explored themes of national identity and cultural heritage.
While the Brodish surname is most commonly associated with Poland and Ukraine, it has also been found in other Slavic countries such as Russia, Belarus, and the Czech Republic, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brodish
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodish, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Brodish 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 Brodish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 89
- Two or more races4.3% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brodish
Brodish 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+11 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,089 places
2020
#156,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 93
-18 bearers (-16.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 8,269 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 2,089 places |
| 2020 | #156,616 | 93 | 0.03 | -18 bearers (-16.2%) | Down 8,269 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 Brodish 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 | #148,347 | #156,616 | -5.6% |
| Count | 111 | 93 | -16.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -22.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brodish bearers went from 111 to 93 (-16.2% change). The surname moved down 8,269 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #156,616.
FAQ
Brodish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brodish?
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the surname Brodish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,203,312 residents.
How common is Brodish?
Brodish ranks #156,616 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 93 people with the surname Brodish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (107), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Brodish.
Has Brodish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brodish went from 111 recorded bearers to 93. That is a decrease of 18 (-16.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #156,616.
What does the Census say about the background of Brodish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodish, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Brodish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brodish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Brodish (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 Brodish mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Brot," meaning bread, possibly referring to a baker or someone associated with the bread trade. 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 Brodish (0.03 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 last name Brodish?
See how many people have the last name Brodish on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.