2000
#109,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 150
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Brustman
A surname derived from the German words "brust" (chest) and "mann" (man), likely referring to a large or strong person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Brustman. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brustman 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Brustman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brustman, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brustman
The surname Brustman is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the Old German word "brusta," which translates to "chest" or "breast." The name is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with a prominent chest or a well-built physique.
The earliest recorded instances of the Brustman surname can be found in various historical documents from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. One notable mention is in the "Codex Diplomatus Saxoniae Regiae," a collection of medieval records from the 13th to 15th centuries, where a certain Hans Brustman is listed as a landowner in the village of Bornstedt in 1427.
Another significant reference is in the "Monumenta Germaniae Historica," a vast collection of historical sources on German history. In a document from 1489, a merchant named Gottfried Brustman is mentioned as a prominent trader in the city of Nuremberg, known for its thriving textile industry during the Renaissance period.
The Brustman surname also appears in the "Kirchenbücher," or parish registers, of several German towns and villages during the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable individual was Johannes Brustman (1548-1622), a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg, who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 18th century, a branch of the Brustman family migrated to the United States, with the earliest recorded arrival being that of Johann Brustman (1732-1798), who settled in Pennsylvania in 1754. He later fought in the American Revolutionary War and his descendants can be traced across various states.
Another prominent figure bearing the Brustman surname was Carl Brustman (1832-1901), a German-American industrialist who founded the Brustman Machinery Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His company played a crucial role in the development of early agricultural machinery and contributed to the growth of the American Midwest.
Throughout history, the Brustman surname has appeared in various forms, such as Brustmann, Brüstman, and Brüstmann, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained closely tied to its German roots and the descriptive connotation of a prominent physique.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brustman
Among Census respondents with the surname Brustman, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Brustman 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 Brustman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.7% · 117
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brustman
Brustman 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
-16 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 18,166 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-13 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,815 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #109,328 | 150 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | -16 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 18,166 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 13,815 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 Brustman 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 | #127,494 | #141,309 | -10.8% |
| Count | 134 | 121 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brustman bearers went from 134 to 121 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 13,815 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #141,309.
FAQ
Brustman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brustman?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Brustman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Brustman?
Brustman ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Brustman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Brustman.
Has Brustman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brustman went from 134 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 13 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Brustman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brustman, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Brustman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brustman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Brustman (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 Brustman mean?
A surname derived from the German words "brust" (chest) and "mann" (man), likely referring to a large or strong person. 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 Brustman (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 Brustman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.