2000
#4,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,959
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.58
Rare Last name
Brownell
A surname derived from a place name meaning "brown hill" or referring to someone living near a brown hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,782 Americans carry the last name Brownell. That puts it at #5,012 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,045 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brownell 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 Brownell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.8K
1 in 44,045
Census rank
#5,012
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,786 bearers of the surname Brownell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5012th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brownell, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brownell
The surname Brownell is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "brun" meaning brown, and "hyl" meaning hill or ridge. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or on a brown hill.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273, where it appears as "Brunhill" and "Brunhull". These early spellings reflect the name's origins as a place name before it became a hereditary surname.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several entries for places with similar names, such as "Brunhill" in Berkshire and "Brunehill" in Warwickshire, suggesting that the name may have originated from these or similar locations.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was John Brownell, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1202. Another early bearer of the name was William Brownell, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including Brownell, Brownhill, and Brownhills. One notable bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Brownell (c. 1550-1628), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Maidstone in 1601.
Another significant figure was George Brownell (1688-1765), a British Army officer who served as the Governor of the Bahamas from 1753 to 1758. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Thomas Brownell, who was born in Massachusetts in 1624.
Other notable individuals with the surname Brownell include:
1. Pardon Brownell (1791-1859), an American politician and Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York.
2. Henry Howard Brownell (1820-1872), an American poet and literary critic known for his Civil War poetry.
3. William Crary Brownell (1851-1928), an American literary critic and author of several books on Victorian literature.
4. Herbert Brownell Jr. (1904-1996), an American lawyer and politician who served as the Attorney General of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
5. Mercein Brownell (1909-2003), an American writer and journalist best known for her travel books and articles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brownell
Among Census respondents with the surname Brownell, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Brownell 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 Brownell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 6,071
- Black or African American3.3% · 225
- Two or more races3.3% · 221
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brownell
Brownell 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
#4,984
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,045
+86 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.39
Rank movement Down 325 places
2020
#5,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,786
-259 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,659 | 6,959 | 2.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,984 | 7,045 | 2.39 | +86 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 325 places |
| 2020 | #5,012 | 6,786 | 2.27 | -259 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 28 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 Brownell 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 | #4,984 | #5,012 | -0.6% |
| Count | 7,045 | 6,786 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.39 | 2.27 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brownell bearers went from 7,045 to 6,786 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,984 to #5,012.
FAQ
Brownell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brownell?
Name Census estimates that about 7,782 living Americans carry the surname Brownell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,045 residents.
How common is Brownell?
Brownell ranks #5,012 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,786 people with the surname Brownell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,782), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Brownell.
Has Brownell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brownell went from 7,045 recorded bearers to 6,786. That is a decrease of 259 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,984 to #5,012.
What does the Census say about the background of Brownell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brownell, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Brownell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (6,071 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brownell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Black (3.3%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Brownell (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 Brownell mean?
A surname derived from a place name meaning "brown hill" or referring to someone living near a brown 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 Brownell (2.27 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 Brownell?
You can see how common the surname Brownell is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.