2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bruegman
A surname derived from the Low German "bruggeman," meaning a toll collector or bridge keeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Bruegman. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bruegman 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Bruegman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bruegman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bruegman
The surname BRUEGMAN is of German origin, traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, derived from the Old German words "brug" meaning "bridge" and "mann" meaning "man." This suggests the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near a bridge or worked as a bridge keeper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of Quedlinburg, a medieval chronicle from the 11th century, where a certain Bruegmann is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Quedlinburg, Saxony.
During the 13th century, the name can be found in various municipal records and tax rolls in the cities of Nuremberg and Munich, indicating the presence of BRUEGMAN families in these areas. In the 14th century, the surname is also documented in the town of Brüggen, near the border of the Netherlands, possibly contributing to the variations in spelling, such as Brugman or Brugemann.
Notable individuals with the surname BRUEGMAN include Johannes Bruegman (1563-1628), a German mathematician and astronomer who published works on celestial mechanics. Another prominent figure was Johann Bruegman (1712-1784), a Bavarian theologian and author of several religious texts.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Bruegman (1819-1892) was a German architect known for his work on the reconstruction of the Cologne Cathedral. Ernst Bruegman (1865-1943) was a German historian and professor at the University of Berlin, whose research focused on the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
One of the most famous individuals with this surname was the American artist Arshile Gorky (born Vosdanig Adoian), whose mother's maiden name was Bruegman. Gorky, born in 1904 in Armenia, was a prominent figure in the abstract expressionist movement and had a significant influence on modern art.
While the surname BRUEGMAN is primarily associated with German heritage, it has also been found in other European countries, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries. However, the name's roots can be traced back to the Germanic regions of central Europe, where it originated as a descriptive name for those living near bridges or engaged in bridge-related occupations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bruegman
Among Census respondents with the surname Bruegman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Bruegman 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 Bruegman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 9
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bruegman
Bruegman 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,531 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,077 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,531 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 4,077 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 Bruegman 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 | #148,347 | #144,270 | 2.7% |
| Count | 111 | 117 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bruegman bearers went from 111 to 117 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 4,077 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #144,270.
FAQ
Bruegman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bruegman?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Bruegman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Bruegman?
Bruegman ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Bruegman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Bruegman.
Has Bruegman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bruegman went from 111 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 6 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Bruegman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bruegman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Bruegman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bruegman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Hispanic (7.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Bruegman (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 Bruegman mean?
A surname derived from the Low German "bruggeman," meaning a toll collector or bridge keeper. 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 Bruegman (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 are called Bruegman?
See how many people have the surname Bruegman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.