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

Brodsky, 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 Brodsky surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brodsky in America

Brodsky is the 8124th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brodsky surname appeared 4,083 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 Brodsky.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brodsky 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.

The history of the last name Brodsky

The surname Brodsky originated in Russia during the 16th century. It is derived from the Russian word "brod," which means "ford" or "river crossing." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a ford or river crossing, or someone whose occupation involved working at a ford.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brodsky can be found in the Velvet Book, a record of Russian nobility compiled in the early 17th century. In this book, a certain Andrei Brodsky is mentioned as a landowner in the Novgorod region.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Brodsky family produced several notable figures. Ivan Brodsky (1634-1711) was a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who funded the construction of several churches and monasteries in Moscow. His grandson, Mikhail Brodsky (1689-1767), was a prominent military leader who served under Peter the Great and played a key role in the Battle of Poltava in 1709.

In the 19th century, the Brodsky name gained further prominence with the birth of the renowned composer and pianist Alexander Brodsky (1818-1898). Brodsky was a leading figure in the Russian musical scene and served as the director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory for many years.

Another notable figure with the surname Brodsky was the poet and novelist Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996). Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Brodsky was a prominent voice in the Russian literary world and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987.

Throughout history, the Brodsky name has been associated with various places in Russia, such as the village of Brodskoe in the Novgorod region and the town of Brodsky in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The name has also been spelled in different ways, including Brodskii and Brodskiy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brodsky

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

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 Brodsky was:

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 Brodsky has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Brodsky was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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