Explore the Family Name Brave

The meaning of Brave

1. Dutch (also Den Brave and De Brave): nickname from the adjective braaf ‘righteous, virtuous’ or perhaps from the same word in the older sense ‘courageous, brave’. 2. French: from the feminine form of Brau.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Brave in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname 'Brave' has seen a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. The rank of this name dropped from 35,387 in 2000 to 38,214 in 2010, marking a decrease of approximately 8%. Similarly, the count of individuals with this last name decreased from 602 to 580 during the same time period, or a change of -3.65%. Consequently, the proportion of the U.S. population with this surname per 100k people also fell by about 9%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,387	#38,214	-7.99%
Count	602	580	-3.65%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.2	-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Brave

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data revealed some shifts between 2000 and 2010. There was no change for those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, remaining at zero. Individuals identifying as two or more races were not recorded in 2000 but made up 4.66% of the 'Brave' surname bearers in 2010. The number of white individuals with this surname dropped from 40.53% in 2000 to 33.28% in 2010, a decrease of nearly 18%. The Hispanic representation also fell to zero. On the other hand, Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native representation increased, with the former rising from 25.75% to 28.62% and the latter from 25.91% to 28.79%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	40.53%	33.28%	-17.89%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	25.91%	28.79%	11.12%
Black	25.75%	28.62%	11.15%
Two or More Races	0%	4.66%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	4.15%	0%	0%