2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brudi
A German surname derived from "Bruder" meaning "brother".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Brudi. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brudi 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Brudi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brudi, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brudi
The surname BRUDI finds its origins in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, dating back to the late 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "brudo," which means "filthy" or "dirty." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname for someone who engaged in messy or unsavory work.
Early records of the BRUDI surname can be traced back to the town of Cuneo in Piedmont, where a family bearing this name was documented in the local parish registers as early as 1487. It is possible that the name had already been in use for some time before this first recorded instance.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the BRUDI surname was Giovanni Brudi, a renowned painter and fresco artist who was active in the city of Turin between 1520 and 1560. His works can still be admired in various churches and palaces throughout the region.
The BRUDI name also appears in historical documents from other parts of northern Italy, including the regions of Lombardy and Veneto. For instance, a merchant named Giacomo Brudi was recorded as residing in the city of Milan in the late 16th century.
As the centuries passed, the BRUDI surname spread to other parts of Italy and beyond, with some variations in spelling emerging, such as Bruda and Brudi. In the 18th century, a notable figure was Carlo Brudi (1711-1789), a celebrated composer and violinist who served at the court of the Duke of Savoy in Turin.
Another notable bearer of the BRUDI name was Francesco Brudi (1801-1863), an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Sardinian parliament during the mid-19th century, representing the city of Cuneo.
In the early 20th century, the BRUDI surname also found its way to other parts of Europe, including France and Germany, likely due to migration and the movement of individuals and families. One notable individual from this period was Emilio Brudi (1888-1964), an Italian engineer who made significant contributions to the development of hydroelectric power plants in the Italian Alps.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brudi
Among Census respondents with the surname Brudi, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Brudi 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 Brudi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brudi
Brudi 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,444 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,753 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 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 6,444 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,753 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 Brudi 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 | #146,201 | #147,954 | -1.2% |
| Count | 113 | 112 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brudi bearers went from 113 to 112 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,753 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #147,954.
FAQ
Brudi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brudi?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Brudi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Brudi?
Brudi ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Brudi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Brudi.
Has Brudi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brudi went from 113 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Brudi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brudi, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (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 Brudi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brudi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Hispanic (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 Brudi (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 Brudi mean?
A German surname derived from "Bruder" meaning "brother". 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 Brudi (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 Brudi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.