2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brostoff
A surname of German origin meaning "small bread" or "bread crumb".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 111 Americans carry the last name Brostoff. That puts it at #156,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,087,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brostoff 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
111
1 in 3,087,877
Census rank
#156,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
97
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 97 bearers of the surname Brostoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brostoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brostoff
The surname BROSTOFF has its origins in Belarus, a country located in Eastern Europe. It is believed to have originated during the 16th century, possibly derived from the Belarusian word "brost," meaning "linden tree." This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who lived near or worked with linden trees.
Early records indicate that the name BROSTOFF appeared in various manuscripts and documents from the region, including land ownership records and tax rolls. However, there are no known references to the name in major historical texts like the Domesday Book, as it is a relatively recent surname compared to many others found in Western Europe.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname BROSTOFF was Ivan Brostoff, born around 1590 in the town of Minsk, which was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the time. He was a farmer and landowner, and his name appears in local tax records from the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, the BROSTOFF surname began to spread beyond Belarus as individuals migrated to other parts of Eastern Europe and Russia. Notably, Grigory Brostoff (1725-1801) was a prominent merchant and trader based in Moscow, renowned for his successful business ventures in the textile industry.
During the 19th century, members of the BROSTOFF family started to emigrate to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada. One notable figure was Mikhail Brostoff (1845-1923), a Russian-born engineer who played a significant role in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Other individuals of note include Aleksandra Brostoff (1880-1952), a Belarusian writer and poet who gained recognition for her works depicting rural life in her home country, and Yuri Brostoff (1910-1988), a Soviet military officer who served during World War II and later became a respected military historian.
While the BROSTOFF surname is not among the most common globally, it has a rich history rooted in the cultural and linguistic traditions of Belarus, with various individuals bearing the name leaving their mark across different fields and regions throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brostoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Brostoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Brostoff 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 Brostoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brostoff
Brostoff 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,890 places
2020
#156,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 97
-19 bearers (-16.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 13,300 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 10,890 places |
| 2020 | #156,449 | 97 | 0.03 | -19 bearers (-16.4%) | Down 13,300 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 Brostoff 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 | #143,149 | #156,449 | -9.3% |
| Count | 116 | 97 | -16.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brostoff bearers went from 116 to 97 (-16.4% change). The surname moved down 13,300 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #156,449.
FAQ
Brostoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brostoff?
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the surname Brostoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,087,877 residents.
How common is Brostoff?
Brostoff ranks #156,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 97 people with the surname Brostoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Brostoff.
Has Brostoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brostoff went from 116 recorded bearers to 97. That is a decrease of 19 (-16.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #156,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Brostoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brostoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Brostoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brostoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Brostoff (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 Brostoff mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "small bread" or "bread crumb". 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 Brostoff (0.03 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 Brostoff?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Brostoff at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.