2000
#12,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,180
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Brookman
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived by a brook or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,285 Americans carry the last name Brookman. That puts it at #14,430 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,002 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brookman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Brookman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 150,002
Census rank
#14,430
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,993 bearers of the surname Brookman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14430th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brookman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brookman
The surname Brookman is of English origin, emerging in the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from an occupational name referring to a person who lived near a brook or small stream. The earliest recorded spelling is thought to be Brocman, found in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1177.
Some historical references to the name include John Brokman, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327. Additionally, the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1273 list a Ricardus Brokeman. These early records suggest the name was present in various regions of England during the Middle Ages.
The name is thought to have evolved from the Old English words "broc" and "mann," meaning "brook" and "man," respectively. This reflects the connection to living near a small watercourse. Variants such as Brockman and Brookeman have also been documented in historical records.
Regarding place names, there is a village called Brookman's Park in Hertfordshire, which may have been associated with the surname's origin or derived from it. However, the exact relationship between the place name and the surname is unclear.
Notable individuals with the surname Brookman include Thomas Brookman (1754-1837), an English clergyman and author. Another figure is John Brookman (1869-1916), a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. Cecily Brookman (1925-2010) was an Australian artist known for her paintings and etchings.
Additionally, there is Henry Brookman (1670-1737), an English theologian and author of several religious works. Finally, John Brookman Everest (1824-1867) was an English surveyor and geodesist best known for his work in the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brookman
Among Census respondents with the surname Brookman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Brookman 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 Brookman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 1,806
- Two or more races3.4% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 64
- Black or African American1.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brookman
Brookman 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
#13,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,183
+3 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 920 places
2020
#14,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,993
-190 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 585 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,925 | 2,180 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,845 | 2,183 | 0.74 | +3 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 920 places |
| 2020 | #14,430 | 1,993 | 0.67 | -190 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 585 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 Brookman 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 | #13,845 | #14,430 | -4.2% |
| Count | 2,183 | 1,993 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.67 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brookman bearers went from 2,183 to 1,993 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 585 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,845 to #14,430.
FAQ
Brookman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brookman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,285 living Americans carry the surname Brookman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,002 residents.
How common is Brookman?
Brookman ranks #14,430 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 1,993 people with the surname Brookman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,285), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Brookman.
Has Brookman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brookman went from 2,183 recorded bearers to 1,993. That is a decrease of 190 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,845 to #14,430.
What does the Census say about the background of Brookman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brookman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Brookman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (1,806 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brookman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Brookman (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 Brookman mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived by a brook or stream. 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 Brookman (0.67 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 are called Brookman?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Brookman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.