2000
#11,587
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,486
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Bross
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to someone who worked with brush-making materials or as a brush maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,374 Americans carry the last name Bross. That puts it at #13,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,378 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bross 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
2.4K
1 in 144,378
Census rank
#13,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,070 bearers of the surname Bross in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bross, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bross
The surname Bross is of German origin, derived from the word "Brosser," which means "eater" or "feeder." It is believed to have originated in the 14th century, and was likely an occupational surname given to someone who worked as a baker or a miller.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. One of the earliest documented examples is a record from the town of Nuremberg in 1389, which mentions a "Hans Brosser."
During the Middle Ages, the name was also sometimes spelled as "Brosser," "Broser," or "Brösser." It is possible that the name is derived from the German word "Brot," which means "bread," further reinforcing its connection to the baking or milling trade.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various town records and church registers across Germany. Notable individuals from this period include Johannes Bross (1515-1587), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony, and Hans Bross (1550-1622), a prominent merchant from Nuremberg.
As people began to migrate from Germany to other parts of Europe and beyond, the name Bross spread to other regions. In the 17th century, records show individuals with this surname in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name in England was John Bross, who was born in 1678 in the town of Oldham, Lancashire. His descendants continued to use the Bross surname in the Manchester area for several generations.
Other notable individuals with the surname Bross include:
1. William Bross (1813-1890), an American newspaper publisher and politician from Illinois.
2. John Bross (1851-1905), an American businessman and philanthropist, also from Illinois.
3. August Bross (1857-1926), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago.
4. Clemens Bross (1886-1969), a German politician and member of the Nazi party during World War II.
5. Johann Bross (1910-1987), a German football player and manager who played for Bayern Munich in the 1930s.
While the name Bross is not among the most common surnames globally, it has a rich history that can be traced back to its German roots and occupational origins in the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bross
Among Census respondents with the surname Bross, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Bross 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 Bross surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 1,855
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 90
- Two or more races3.4% · 70
- Black or African American1.3% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bross
Bross 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
#12,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,385
-101 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 1,307 places
2020
#13,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,070
-315 bearers (-13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 1,056 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,587 | 2,486 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,894 | 2,385 | 0.81 | -101 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 1,307 places |
| 2020 | #13,950 | 2,070 | 0.69 | -315 bearers (-13.2%) | Down 1,056 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 Bross 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 | #12,894 | #13,950 | -8.2% |
| Count | 2,385 | 2,070 | -13.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.69 | -14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bross bearers went from 2,385 to 2,070 (-13.2% change). The surname moved down 1,056 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,894 to #13,950.
FAQ
Bross surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bross?
Name Census estimates that about 2,374 living Americans carry the surname Bross. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,378 residents.
How common is Bross?
Bross ranks #13,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,070 people with the surname Bross. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,374), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Bross.
Has Bross become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bross went from 2,385 recorded bearers to 2,070. That is a decrease of 315 (-13.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,894 to #13,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Bross?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bross, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Bross in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (1,855 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bross appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Bross (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 Bross mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to someone who worked with brush-making materials or as a brush maker. 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 Bross (0.69 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 Bross?
You can see how many people are called Bross on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.