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

Brody, 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 Brody surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brody in America

Brody is the 5142nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brody surname appeared 6,805 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Brody.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brody 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 Brody

The surname Brody originated in Eastern Europe, specifically in regions that are now part of Poland and Ukraine. It is derived from the Slavic word "brod," which means "ford" or a shallow place in a river where people can cross. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a ford or was responsible for maintaining or operating a ford.

Brody was first recorded as a surname in the 14th century in Polish and Ukrainian records. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name include Bronislaw Brody, a landowner in the village of Brody, Poland, in the late 1300s, and Yaroslav Brody, a merchant in the city of Lviv (formerly part of Poland, now in Ukraine) in the early 1400s.

The name Brody is also associated with several place names in Eastern Europe, such as the town of Brody in western Ukraine, which was an important trading center in the 16th and 17th centuries. The town's name is derived from its location near a ford on the Styr River.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brody in England is John Brody, a merchant from Gdansk (then part of Poland) who settled in London in the late 16th century. Another notable historical figure with the surname Brody was Isaac Brody (1819-1886), a Russian-born Jewish scholar and writer who contributed to the development of modern Hebrew literature.

Other notable individuals with the surname Brody include:

1. Adrien Brody (born 1973), American actor known for roles in films like "The Pianist" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
2. David Brody (1958-2022), American journalist and author who covered politics and religion.
3. Fanny Brody (1892-1949), Russian-born American actress and singer in Yiddish theater and films.
4. Jill Brody (born 1942), American author and journalist known for her books on health and wellness.
5. Max Brody (1886-1944), Polish-born American painter and sculptor known for his Cubist works.

The surname Brody has been a part of Eastern European history for centuries and has since spread to various parts of the world, carrying with it the legacy of its origins near river fords and trading centers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brody

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!