2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brucke
A Germanic surname derived from the word for "bridge".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Brucke. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brucke 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Brucke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brucke, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brucke
The surname BRUCKE is believed to have originated from the German language, derived from the Old High German word "brucca," which means "bridge." This name is thought to have first emerged in the early Middle Ages, around the 8th or 9th century, in various regions of present-day Germany and neighboring areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BRUCKE can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in reference to individuals who lived near or were associated with bridges, likely as builders, keepers, or toll collectors.
During the medieval period, the BRUCKE surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony, Thuringia, and the Rhineland, where many towns and villages had bridges spanning rivers or streams. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include Johann BRUCKE (1652-1718), a German theologian and author from Zwickau, and Heinrich BRUCKE (1766-1835), a German composer and organist from Wolfenbüttel.
In the 16th century, the BRUCKE surname also appeared in various town records and chronicles across central and western Germany, such as the Stadtchronik von Erfurt (City Chronicle of Erfurt) and the Annalen der Stadt Köln (Annals of the City of Cologne). These records often mentioned individuals with this surname in connection with bridge-related occupations or residences near bridges.
As the BRUCKE family spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, including Brücke, Brucken, and Brucke. One notable figure from this time was Johann Philipp BRUCKE (1680-1745), a German mathematician and astronomer from Mühlhausen, who contributed to the development of logarithmic tables.
Other prominent individuals with the BRUCKE surname include Ernst Wilhelm BRUCKE (1819-1892), a German physiologist and professor at the University of Vienna, known for his contributions to the study of the eye and visual perception, and Max BRUCKE (1842-1888), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brucke
Among Census respondents with the surname Brucke, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Brucke 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 Brucke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 107
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brucke
Brucke 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
+6 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,392 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-6 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,297 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 3,392 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 6,297 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 Brucke 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 | #149,446 | -4.4% |
| Count | 116 | 110 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brucke bearers went from 116 to 110 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 6,297 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #149,446.
FAQ
Brucke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brucke?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Brucke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Brucke?
Brucke ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Brucke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Brucke.
Has Brucke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brucke went from 116 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Brucke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brucke, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Brucke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brucke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Brucke (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 Brucke mean?
A Germanic surname derived from the word for "bridge". 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 Brucke (0.04 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 Brucke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.