2000
#12,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,205
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Engelbrecht
Derived from the German words "engel" (angel) and "brecht" (bright), referring to someone of angelic or bright character.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,562 Americans carry the last name Engelbrecht. That puts it at #13,130 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,784 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Engelbrecht 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 Engelbrecht with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,784
Census rank
#13,130
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,234 bearers of the surname Engelbrecht in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13130th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Engelbrecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Engelbrecht
The surname Engelbrecht is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic words "engel" meaning "angel" and "brecht" meaning "bright" or "shining." The name likely referred to someone with a bright or radiant countenance or perhaps someone with angelic qualities.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest mentions of the name is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, dating back to 1249.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in various church records and legal documents across Germany, including in cities such as Cologne, Nuremberg, and Frankfurt. It is also found in the Bürgermatrikel, a citizen registry in the city of Lübeck, dating back to the late 14th century.
During the 16th century, the surname gained prominence with several notable individuals bearing the name. One such person was Johann Engelbrecht, a German Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1499 to 1572. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
Another notable figure was Matthias Engelbrecht, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1561 to 1631. He is best known for his religious paintings and engravings, many of which adorned churches and monasteries throughout Germany.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various historical records across Europe, including in the Netherlands and Sweden. One notable individual was Johan Engelbrecht, a Swedish military officer and engineer who lived from 1599 to 1677. He played a crucial role in fortifying Swedish cities during the Thirty Years' War.
The 18th century saw the emergence of Johann Engelbrecht, a German geographer and cartographer who lived from 1685 to 1756. He is best known for his detailed maps of the Holy Roman Empire and various regions of Germany.
As the surname spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world, including North America, where it was brought by German immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One notable American with the surname was Johann Engelbrecht, a German-American artist and illustrator who lived from 1867 to 1932. He is best known for his illustrations in various books and magazines of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Engelbrecht
Among Census respondents with the surname Engelbrecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Engelbrecht 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 Engelbrecht surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,029
- Two or more races5.5% · 122
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 37
- Black or African American1.1% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Engelbrecht
Engelbrecht 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
#13,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,273
+68 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 596 places
2020
#13,130
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,234
-39 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 277 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,811 | 2,205 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,407 | 2,273 | 0.77 | +68 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 596 places |
| 2020 | #13,130 | 2,234 | 0.75 | -39 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 277 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 Engelbrecht 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 | #13,407 | #13,130 | 2.1% |
| Count | 2,273 | 2,234 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.75 | -2.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Engelbrecht bearers went from 2,273 to 2,234 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 277 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,407 to #13,130.
FAQ
Engelbrecht surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Engelbrecht?
Name Census estimates that about 2,562 living Americans carry the surname Engelbrecht. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,784 residents.
How common is Engelbrecht?
Engelbrecht ranks #13,130 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,234 people with the surname Engelbrecht. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,562), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Engelbrecht.
Has Engelbrecht become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Engelbrecht went from 2,273 recorded bearers to 2,234. That is a decrease of 39 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,407 to #13,130.
What does the Census say about the background of Engelbrecht?
Among Census respondents with the surname Engelbrecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Engelbrecht in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,029 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Engelbrecht appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (5.5%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Engelbrecht (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 Engelbrecht mean?
Derived from the German words "engel" (angel) and "brecht" (bright), referring to someone of angelic or bright character. 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 Engelbrecht (0.75 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 are called Engelbrecht?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Engelbrecht, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.