2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Brunnert
A German surname derived from the word "brunner" meaning a person living near a well or spring.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Brunnert. 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 Brunnert 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 Brunnert 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 Brunnert, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brunnert
The surname Brunnert is of Germanic origin, specifically from the German-speaking regions of Europe. It is believed to have originated during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name Brunnert is derived from the German word "Brunner," which means "one who lived near a well or spring." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname likely resided near a notable well or natural spring, perhaps in a rural area or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brunnert can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of Saxon documents from the 13th century. In this manuscript, a person named "Henricus Brunnere" is mentioned in relation to a land transaction dated 1287.
Another early reference to the Brunnert name appears in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Nürnberg, a collection of records from the city of Nuremberg. This document, dated 1412, mentions a "Hans Brunnert" who was a resident of the city.
During the 16th century, the name Brunnert began to appear in various regions of Germany, indicating that the family had spread across different areas. One notable bearer of the name during this time was Martin Brunnert, a Protestant theologian and author who lived from 1522 to 1588.
In the 17th century, the Brunnert name can be found in the records of several German states, including Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg. One prominent figure from this period was Johann Brunnert, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1612 to 1672.
As the centuries progressed, the Brunnert name continued to be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries where German-speaking communities existed. Some notable individuals with this surname include:
1. Friedrich Brunnert (1820-1888), a German politician and lawyer from Saxony.
2. Gustav Brunnert (1849-1919), a German-American architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in New York City.
3. Margarethe Brunnert (1872-1945), a German writer and poet who was active in the early 20th century.
4. Hans Brunnert (1892-1967), a German military officer who served during World War I and World War II.
5. Erich Brunnert (1909-1991), a German artist and painter known for his landscapes and still-life works.
While the Brunnert name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration, carrying with it the rich history and heritage of its Germanic origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brunnert
Among Census respondents with the surname Brunnert, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Brunnert 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 Brunnert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 114
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brunnert
Brunnert 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+13 bearers (+10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,319 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-15 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+10.9%) | Up 2,319 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 15,223 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 Brunnert 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 | #129,047 | #144,270 | -11.8% |
| Count | 132 | 117 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brunnert bearers went from 132 to 117 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 15,223 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #144,270.
FAQ
Brunnert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brunnert?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Brunnert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Brunnert?
Brunnert 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 Brunnert. 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 Brunnert.
Has Brunnert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brunnert went from 132 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 15 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Brunnert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brunnert, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Brunnert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brunnert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Two or More Races (1.7%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Brunnert (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 Brunnert mean?
A German surname derived from the word "brunner" meaning a person living near a well or spring. 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 Brunnert (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 Brunnert?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.