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

Brosnan, 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 Brosnan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brosnan in America

Brosnan is the 12426th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brosnan surname appeared 2,501 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 Brosnan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brosnan 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 Brosnan

The surname Brosnan originates from Ireland, specifically in the counties of Kerry and Cork. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic "O'Brosnachain" which means "descendant of Brosnacha." The name Brosnacha itself is a derivative of the word "brosna," meaning "a fierce or ill-tempered person."

The earliest recorded mention of the Brosnan surname can be found in the Irish Annals, which date back to the 12th century. In these annals, the name is spelled various ways, including O'Brosnachain, O'Brosnan, and Brosnan.

One notable historical reference of the Brosnan name is in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In this text, a Brosnan is mentioned as a participant in the Battle of Callan in 1261.

The first recorded instance of the Anglicized spelling "Brosnan" appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th century. This suggests that the Brosnan family was among the early adopters of the English language and spelling conventions.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Brosnan. One of the earliest was Donal Brosnan, a 17th-century Irish poet and musician from County Kerry. Another was John Brosnan, a prominent 18th-century Irish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Irish Parliament.

In the 19th century, Michael Brosnan was a renowned Irish journalist and editor who founded the Cork Examiner newspaper in 1841. William Brosnan, born in 1832, was an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

More recently, the most famous Brosnan is undoubtedly Pierce Brosnan, the Irish actor best known for his portrayal of James Bond in four films from 1995 to 2002. Born in 1953, Brosnan has had a successful career in both film and television.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brosnan

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

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

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

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