2000
#12,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,164
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Brun
A French habitational surname referring to someone living near a place with brown soil or water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,470 Americans carry the last name Brun. That puts it at #13,501 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,767 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brun 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 Brun with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 138,767
Census rank
#13,501
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,154 bearers of the surname Brun in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13501st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brun, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (12.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brun
The surname BRUN has its origins in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old French word "brun," meaning "brown," which likely referred to someone with a dark complexion or hair color.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions several individuals with the surname BRUN, indicating that the name had already spread beyond France by the 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the BRUN surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in France. It is likely that some individuals bearing this name came to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066, as many Norman families settled in various parts of the country.
The name BRUN can also be traced back to various place names in France, such as Brunville and Brunville-sur-Mer. These place names may have influenced the surname, or vice versa, as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on the place they lived or originated from.
One notable individual with the surname BRUN was Robert Brun (c. 1098-1167), a French abbot and theologian who served as the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds in England. Another prominent figure was Guillaume Brun (c. 1300-1360), a French composer and music theorist who lived during the Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, Jean Brun (c. 1510-1582) was a French Protestant reformer and theologian who played a significant role in the French Reformation. He was known for his translations of the Bible into French.
During the 17th century, Charles Brun (1619-1690) was a French painter and art theorist who served as the First Painter to Louis XIV. He was renowned for his contributions to the Baroque style of painting and his influential writings on art theory.
In the 19th century, Rudolf Brun (1805-1886) was a Swiss-born German painter and lithographer who specialized in landscape and genre paintings. He was known for his realistic depictions of rural life and natural scenes.
The surname BRUN has maintained a presence throughout history, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, from religion and philosophy to the arts and sciences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brun
Among Census respondents with the surname Brun, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (12.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Brun 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 Brun surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.0% · 1,400
- Black or African American15.4% · 331
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 262
- Two or more races3.7% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brun
Brun 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
#11,383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,770
+606 bearers (+28.0%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 1,603 places
2020
#13,501
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,154
-616 bearers (-22.2%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 2,118 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,986 | 2,164 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,383 | 2,770 | 0.94 | +606 bearers (+28.0%) | Up 1,603 places |
| 2020 | #13,501 | 2,154 | 0.72 | -616 bearers (-22.2%) | Down 2,118 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 Brun 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 | #11,383 | #13,501 | -18.6% |
| Count | 2,770 | 2,154 | -22.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.72 | -23.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brun bearers went from 2,770 to 2,154 (-22.2% change). The surname moved down 2,118 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,383 to #13,501.
FAQ
Brun surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brun?
Name Census estimates that about 2,470 living Americans carry the surname Brun. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,767 residents.
How common is Brun?
Brun ranks #13,501 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,154 people with the surname Brun. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,470), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Brun.
Has Brun become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brun went from 2,770 recorded bearers to 2,154. That is a decrease of 616 (-22.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,383 to #13,501.
What does the Census say about the background of Brun?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brun, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (12.2%). 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 Brun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.0% (1,400 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brun appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.0%), Black (15.4%), Hispanic (12.2%). 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 Brun (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 Brun mean?
A French habitational surname referring to someone living near a place with brown soil or water. 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 Brun (0.72 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 Brun?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Brun at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.