2000
#16,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,582
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.59
Rare Last name
Brost
A surname derived from the Old German word "brost", meaning defect or flaw.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,060 Americans carry the last name Brost. That puts it at #15,658 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,386 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brost 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
2.1K
1 in 166,386
Census rank
#15,658
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,796 bearers of the surname Brost in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15658th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brost, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brost
The surname Brost is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "brot," which means "bread." This suggests that the name may have been associated with bakers or those involved in the bread trade in some capacity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, where a certain Hans Brost was listed as a resident in 1558. The name also appears in various church registers and tax rolls from other parts of southern Germany during the same period.
In the 17th century, the name Brost began to spread to other parts of Europe, with records showing individuals bearing the name in parts of modern-day Poland, Czech Republic, and Austria. This was likely due to migration patterns and the movement of people during that time.
One notable figure with the surname Brost was Johann Georg Brost, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1642 to 1717. He served as a professor at the University of Leipzig and was known for his works on logic and metaphysics.
Another individual of note was Johann Michael Brost, a German painter who was active in the 18th century. He is credited with creating several religious murals and altarpieces in churches throughout southern Germany.
In the 19th century, the name Brost can be found in various records from the United States, indicating that individuals with this surname had begun to emigrate from Europe. One such person was Wilhelm Brost, a German immigrant who settled in Wisconsin in the 1850s and became a prominent farmer and landowner in the area.
The name Brost has also been associated with certain place names in Germany, such as Brosterhausen, a village in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. This location likely derived its name from an earlier settler or landowner with the surname Brost.
Other notable individuals with the surname Brost include Erich Brost, a German military officer who served during World War II, and Manfred Brost, a contemporary German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union party.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brost
Among Census respondents with the surname Brost, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Brost 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 Brost surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 1,692
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 47
- Two or more races1.9% · 34
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brost
Brost 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
#18,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,533
-49 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Down 1,491 places
2020
#15,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,796
+263 bearers (+17.2%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 2,498 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,665 | 1,582 | 0.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,156 | 1,533 | 0.52 | -49 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 1,491 places |
| 2020 | #15,658 | 1,796 | 0.60 | +263 bearers (+17.2%) | Up 2,498 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 Brost 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 | #18,156 | #15,658 | 13.8% |
| Count | 1,533 | 1,796 | 17.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 0.60 | 15.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brost bearers went from 1,533 to 1,796 (+17.2% change). The surname moved up 2,498 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,156 to #15,658.
FAQ
Brost surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brost?
Name Census estimates that about 2,060 living Americans carry the surname Brost. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,386 residents.
How common is Brost?
Brost ranks #15,658 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,796 people with the surname Brost. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,060), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Brost.
Has Brost become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brost went from 1,533 recorded bearers to 1,796. That is an increase of 263 (+17.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #18,156 to #15,658.
What does the Census say about the background of Brost?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brost, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Brost in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (1,692 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brost appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Brost (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 Brost mean?
A surname derived from the Old German word "brost", meaning defect or flaw. 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 Brost (0.60 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 surname Brost?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.