2000
#65,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 285
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Brownback
A surname derived from the Old English words "brun" and "bæc," referring to someone who lived by a brown stream or brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 353 Americans carry the last name Brownback. That puts it at #68,789 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 970,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brownback 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
353
1 in 970,975
Census rank
#68,789
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
308
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 308 bearers of the surname Brownback in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 68789th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brownback, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brownback
The surname BROWNBACK has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the late 16th century. The name is derived from the Old English words "brun" meaning brown and "bæc" meaning back or ridge, suggesting that the original bearers of the name lived near a brown-colored hill or ridge.
The earliest known record of the BROWNBACK surname dates back to 1592, when a William Brownback was mentioned in the parish records of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Another early reference can be found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1674, which list a John Brownback residing in the village of Woolton, Lancashire.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the BROWNBACK surname was George Brownback (1663-1727), a farmer and landowner from Cheshire, who is mentioned in several property deeds and local records from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
In the 19th century, the BROWNBACK name gained prominence with the birth of John Brownback (1825-1901), a British textile merchant who established a successful wool trading business in Leeds. His son, William Brownback (1856-1932), continued the family business and became a prominent figure in the local community, serving as a councilor and magistrate.
Another notable BROWNBACK was Robert Brownback (1882-1967), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Trocadero Theatre and the former headquarters of the BBC in Portland Place.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the BROWNBACK surname was Johann Michael Brownback (1718-1789), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various professions, including politics, law, and business.
One of the most prominent American BROWNBACKS was Samuel Brownback (born 1956), a longtime Republican politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and later as the Governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brownback
Among Census respondents with the surname Brownback, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Brownback 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 Brownback surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 295
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 3
- Black or African American0.6% · 2
- Two or more races0.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brownback
Brownback 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
#64,891
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 306
+21 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 242 places
2020
#68,789
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 308
+2 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 3,898 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #65,133 | 285 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #64,891 | 306 | 0.10 | +21 bearers (+7.4%) | Up 242 places |
| 2020 | #68,789 | 308 | 0.10 | +2 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 3,898 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 Brownback 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 | #64,891 | #68,789 | -6.0% |
| Count | 306 | 308 | 0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.10 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brownback bearers went from 306 to 308 (+0.7% change). The surname moved down 3,898 positions in the national ranking, going from #64,891 to #68,789.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Brownback
FAQ
Brownback surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brownback?
Name Census estimates that about 353 living Americans carry the surname Brownback. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 970,975 residents.
How common is Brownback?
Brownback ranks #68,789 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 308 people with the surname Brownback. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (353), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Brownback.
Has Brownback become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brownback went from 306 recorded bearers to 308. That is an increase of 2 (+0.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #64,891 to #68,789.
What does the Census say about the background of Brownback?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brownback, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Brownback in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (295 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brownback appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Hispanic (1.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Brownback (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 Brownback mean?
A surname derived from the Old English words "brun" and "bæc," referring to someone who lived by a brown stream or brook. 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 Brownback (0.10 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 Brownback?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Brownback at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.