2000
#16,427
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,613
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Brow
A topographic surname denoting someone who lived on or near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,509 Americans carry the last name Brow. That puts it at #13,331 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,610 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brow 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 Brow with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 136,610
Census rank
#13,331
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,188 bearers of the surname Brow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13331st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brow, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brow
The surname Brow is of English origin, and it can be traced back to the Middle English period, which spanned from the 11th to the 15th century. The name is derived from the Old English word "bru," which means "brow" or "ridge," referring to a person who lived near a prominent ridge or hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brow can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this document, the name appears as "Bru" or "Bruge," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common during that era.
The surname Brow has been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Browhill in Oxfordshire, Browside in Cumbria, and Browmarsh in Wiltshire. These place names likely originated from the Old English word "bru," indicating that the name was often given to individuals who lived in or near these locations.
One notable figure with the surname Brow was Sir John Brow, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. Another prominent individual was Thomas Brow, a 16th-century English clergyman and author who wrote several religious texts.
In the 17th century, the surname Brow gained recognition with the birth of Sir Christopher Brow (1621-1696), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire. During the same period, Robert Brow (1624-1705) was a renowned mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of calculus.
A century later, in the 18th century, the Brow family produced another notable figure, William Brow (1736-1803), a British naval officer who played a crucial role in several battles during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Throughout history, the surname Brow has been found across various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Oxfordshire, reflecting its widespread distribution and the mobility of families bearing this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brow
Among Census respondents with the surname Brow, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Brow 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 Brow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.0% · 1,576
- Black or African American18.2% · 398
- Two or more races4.8% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brow
Brow 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
#17,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,616
+3 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 1,020 places
2020
#13,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,188
+572 bearers (+35.4%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 4,116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,427 | 1,613 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,447 | 1,616 | 0.55 | +3 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 1,020 places |
| 2020 | #13,331 | 2,188 | 0.73 | +572 bearers (+35.4%) | Up 4,116 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 Brow 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 | #17,447 | #13,331 | 23.6% |
| Count | 1,616 | 2,188 | 35.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.73 | 33.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brow bearers went from 1,616 to 2,188 (+35.4% change). The surname moved up 4,116 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,447 to #13,331.
FAQ
Brow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brow?
Name Census estimates that about 2,509 living Americans carry the surname Brow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,610 residents.
How common is Brow?
Brow ranks #13,331 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,188 people with the surname Brow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,509), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Brow.
Has Brow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brow went from 1,616 recorded bearers to 2,188. That is an increase of 572 (+35.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,447 to #13,331.
What does the Census say about the background of Brow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brow, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Brow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.0% (1,576 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.0%), Black (18.2%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Brow (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 Brow mean?
A topographic surname denoting someone who lived on or near a hill. 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 Brow (0.73 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 Americans have the surname Brow?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.