Find out how popular the last name Brugh is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brugh.
A surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone living near a borough or fortified town.
Brugh, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brugh surname is from the 2010 census data.
Brugh is the 28746th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Brugh surname appeared 828 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Brugh.
We can also compare 2010 data for Brugh to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 28746 | 27128 | 5.79% |
Count | 828 | 839 | -1.32% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.28 | 0.31 | -10.17% |
The surname Brugh is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, particularly in the province of Friesland, during the 16th century. It is derived from the old Frisian word "brugge," meaning "bridge" or "crossing." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a bridge or a ford.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brugh can be found in the Friesland municipal records of 1584, where a certain Pieter Brugh is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Leeuwarden. It is possible that this Pieter Brugh was among the earliest bearers of the surname.
In the 17th century, the name Brugh began to spread beyond Friesland, with several families bearing the name settling in other parts of the Netherlands, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. During this period, variations in spelling also emerged, including Brughe, Bruggen, and Brugghen.
One notable individual with the surname Brugh was Jan Brugh, a Dutch painter who lived from 1628 to 1685. He was known for his landscape paintings and was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, a prestigious association of artists in the Netherlands.
Another historical figure with the Brugh surname was Pieter Brugh van Amemuiden, a Dutch naval officer who served in the 17th century. He was involved in several naval battles against the English and is mentioned in several historical accounts of the Dutch-English naval conflicts of that era.
In the 18th century, the Brugh surname found its way to other parts of Europe, with some families settling in Germany and England. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Johann Brugh, a German composer and organist who lived from 1742 to 1814.
As the Brugh family spread across Europe, the spelling of the name continued to evolve. In England, for instance, some branches adopted the spelling "Burgh" or "Brough," which was more in line with the English pronunciation of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Burgh spelling can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Islington, London, where a certain William Burgh is mentioned as having been baptized in 1712.
Throughout history, several other individuals with the Brugh or Burgh surname have achieved notable accomplishments, including Robert Burgh (1777-1854), an English politician and writer, and John Burgh (1786-1875), an English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brugh.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brugh was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 91.18% | 755 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 4.35% | 36 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 2.29% | 19 |
Hispanic Origin | 1.57% | 13 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brugh has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 91.18% | 94.16% | -3.22% |
Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 4.35% | 2.98% | 37.38% |
Two or More Races | 2.29% | 1.79% | 24.51% |
Hispanic | 1.57% | (S)% | (S)% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Brugh was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/brugh-surname-popularity/">Brugh last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Brugh last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 23, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/brugh-surname-popularity/.
"Brugh last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/brugh-surname-popularity/. Accessed 23 June, 2025
Brugh last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/brugh-surname-popularity/.
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