2000
#4,919
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,561
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.43
Rare Last name
Brush
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold brushes or lived near a thicket or bush.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,868 Americans carry the last name Brush. That puts it at #5,604 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,906 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brush 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 Brush with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,906
Census rank
#5,604
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,989 bearers of the surname Brush in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5604th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brush, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brush
The surname Brush is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'brysc' or 'brisc', which means 'brush' or 'bushes'. It is an occupational name, initially given to someone who worked with brushwood or made brushes for a living.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Brush can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, England, from the year 1198, where a person named Robert le Bruschere is mentioned. The surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, with the spelling 'le Bruscher'.
During the medieval period, the surname Brush was particularly prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire. It is believed that the name may have originated from these areas, where the brush-making trade was likely prominent.
In the 16th century, the surname Brush was recorded in various forms, such as Brussher, Bruschere, and Bruscher, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation that were common during that time.
Notable individuals with the surname Brush include John Brush (1826-1888), an American industrialist and inventor who co-founded the Brush Electric Company, and Gordon Brush (1912-2001), an American artist known for his abstract expressionist paintings.
In the 17th century, the surname Brush appeared in the parish records of Clavering, Essex, where a family with that name resided for several generations. One notable member of this family was Craven Brush (1654-1733), a wealthy landowner and justice of the peace.
Another prominent individual with the surname Brush was Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929), an American inventor and entrepreneur best known for developing the arc light and the Brush dynamo, which were instrumental in the early days of electric lighting.
The Brush surname can also be traced back to the village of Brush in Buckinghamshire, England, which may have contributed to the name's origin and dissemination.
Over time, the surname Brush has spread across various parts of England and beyond, with families bearing this name found in other parts of the United Kingdom, as well as in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brush
Among Census respondents with the surname Brush, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Brush 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 Brush surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 5,372
- Two or more races3.9% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 211
- Black or African American1.6% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brush
Brush 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
#5,218
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,690
+129 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 299 places
2020
#5,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,989
-701 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 386 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,919 | 6,561 | 2.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,218 | 6,690 | 2.27 | +129 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 299 places |
| 2020 | #5,604 | 5,989 | 2.00 | -701 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 386 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 Brush 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 | #5,218 | #5,604 | -7.4% |
| Count | 6,690 | 5,989 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.27 | 2.00 | -11.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brush bearers went from 6,690 to 5,989 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 386 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,218 to #5,604.
FAQ
Brush surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brush?
Name Census estimates that about 6,868 living Americans carry the surname Brush. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,906 residents.
How common is Brush?
Brush ranks #5,604 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,989 people with the surname Brush. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,868), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Brush.
Has Brush become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brush went from 6,690 recorded bearers to 5,989. That is a decrease of 701 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,218 to #5,604.
What does the Census say about the background of Brush?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brush, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Brush in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (5,372 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brush appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Brush (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 Brush mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold brushes or lived near a thicket or bush. 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 Brush (2.00 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 surname Brush?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.