2000
#7,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,024
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Brodsky
A Jewish toponymic surname derived from the town of Brodskie in present-day Belarus or Ukraine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,385 Americans carry the last name Brodsky. That puts it at #8,291 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,165 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brodsky 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
4.4K
1 in 78,165
Census rank
#8,291
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,824 bearers of the surname Brodsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8291st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brodsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Brodsky 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 Brodsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 3,532
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 150
- Two or more races2.1% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 34
- Black or African American0.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brodsky
Brodsky 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
#8,124
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,083
+59 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Down 506 places
2020
#8,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,824
-259 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 167 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,618 | 4,024 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,124 | 4,083 | 1.38 | +59 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 506 places |
| 2020 | #8,291 | 3,824 | 1.28 | -259 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 167 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 Brodsky 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 | #8,124 | #8,291 | -2.1% |
| Count | 4,083 | 3,824 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.28 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brodsky bearers went from 4,083 to 3,824 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 167 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,124 to #8,291.
FAQ
Brodsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brodsky?
Name Census estimates that about 4,385 living Americans carry the surname Brodsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,165 residents.
How common is Brodsky?
Brodsky ranks #8,291 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,824 people with the surname Brodsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,385), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Brodsky.
Has Brodsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brodsky went from 4,083 recorded bearers to 3,824. That is a decrease of 259 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,124 to #8,291.
What does the Census say about the background of Brodsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brodsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Brodsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (3,532 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brodsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Brodsky (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 Brodsky mean?
A Jewish toponymic surname derived from the town of Brodskie in present-day Belarus or Ukraine. 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 Brodsky (1.28 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 surname Brodsky?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.