2000
#11,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,518
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Brouwer
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a brewer of beer or ale.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,359 Americans carry the last name Brouwer. That puts it at #10,461 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,041 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brouwer 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 Brouwer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 102,041
Census rank
#10,461
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,929 bearers of the surname Brouwer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10461st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brouwer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brouwer
The surname Brouwer originates from the Dutch language and can be traced back to the medieval period in the Netherlands. It is derived from the Dutch word "brouwer," which means "brewer." This occupational surname was likely given to individuals who were involved in the brewing of beer, a prominent industry in the Low Countries during that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Brouwer surname can be found in the records of the city of Delft in the year 1389, where a certain Willem Brouwer was mentioned as a resident. The name also appears in various historical records from other Dutch cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, indicating its widespread usage across the region.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Brouwer surname gained prominence in the Netherlands, particularly in the city of Haarlem. One notable bearer of the name was Adriaen Brouwer (1605-1638), a renowned Dutch Golden Age painter known for his depictions of peasant life and genre scenes.
Another significant figure with the Brouwer surname was Hendrik Brouwer (1581-1643), a Dutch naval officer and explorer who commanded several expeditions to the East Indies and discovered the Brouwer Strait between Java and Sumbawa in 1612.
In the realm of mathematics, the name Brouwer is associated with Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (1881-1966), a Dutch mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to topology and set theory, as well as the foundations of mathematics.
The Brouwer surname also found its way to other parts of Europe and the Americas through Dutch migration. For instance, Adam Brouwer (1631-1685) was a Dutch settler who became one of the earliest landowners in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York).
Another notable bearer of the Brouwer name was Christiaan Brouwer (1882-1939), a Dutch architect known for his work in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), where he designed numerous buildings in a style that blended traditional Dutch and local architectural elements.
Throughout history, the Brouwer surname has maintained its strong connection to its Dutch origins, reflecting the legacy of the brewing industry and the influential figures who bore this name in various fields, from art and exploration to mathematics and architecture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brouwer
Among Census respondents with the surname Brouwer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Brouwer 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 Brouwer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 2,709
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 85
- Two or more races2.9% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- Black or African American0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brouwer
Brouwer 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
#11,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,870
+352 bearers (+14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Up 404 places
2020
#10,461
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,929
+59 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Up 608 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,473 | 2,518 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,069 | 2,870 | 0.97 | +352 bearers (+14.0%) | Up 404 places |
| 2020 | #10,461 | 2,929 | 0.98 | +59 bearers (+2.1%) | Up 608 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 Brouwer 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 | #11,069 | #10,461 | 5.5% |
| Count | 2,870 | 2,929 | 2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.97 | 0.98 | 1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brouwer bearers went from 2,870 to 2,929 (+2.1% change). The surname moved up 608 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,069 to #10,461.
FAQ
Brouwer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brouwer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,359 living Americans carry the surname Brouwer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,041 residents.
How common is Brouwer?
Brouwer ranks #10,461 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 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 2,929 people with the surname Brouwer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,359), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 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 Brouwer.
Has Brouwer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brouwer went from 2,870 recorded bearers to 2,929. That is an increase of 59 (+2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,069 to #10,461.
What does the Census say about the background of Brouwer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brouwer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Brouwer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (2,709 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brouwer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Brouwer (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 Brouwer mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a brewer of beer or ale. 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 Brouwer (0.98 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 share the surname Brouwer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.