2000
#11,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,394
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Brosnan
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Brosnachain, derived from a diminutive of the Irish word brosna, meaning "bundle of firewood."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,780 Americans carry the last name Brosnan. That puts it at #12,260 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,293 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brosnan 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 Brosnan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,293
Census rank
#12,260
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,424 bearers of the surname Brosnan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12260th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brosnan, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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One notable historical reference of the Brosnan name is in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brosnan
Among Census respondents with the surname Brosnan, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Brosnan 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 Brosnan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,262
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 78
- Two or more races2.2% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brosnan
Brosnan 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
#12,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,501
+107 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 455 places
2020
#12,260
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,424
-77 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 166 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,971 | 2,394 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,426 | 2,501 | 0.85 | +107 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 455 places |
| 2020 | #12,260 | 2,424 | 0.81 | -77 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 166 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 Brosnan 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 | #12,426 | #12,260 | 1.3% |
| Count | 2,501 | 2,424 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.81 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brosnan bearers went from 2,501 to 2,424 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 166 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,426 to #12,260.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Brosnan
FAQ
Brosnan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brosnan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,780 living Americans carry the surname Brosnan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,293 residents.
How common is Brosnan?
Brosnan ranks #12,260 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,424 people with the surname Brosnan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,780), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Brosnan.
Has Brosnan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brosnan went from 2,501 recorded bearers to 2,424. That is a decrease of 77 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,426 to #12,260.
What does the Census say about the background of Brosnan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brosnan, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Brosnan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,262 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brosnan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Brosnan (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 Brosnan mean?
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Brosnachain, derived from a diminutive of the Irish word brosna, meaning "bundle of firewood." 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 Brosnan (0.81 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 last name Brosnan?
If you just want to know how many people are called Brosnan, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.