Explore the Family Name Brewster
The meaning of Brewster
English: occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, from Middle English brewestere, browestere ‘(female) brewer’ (from Old English brēowan ‘to brew’). Brewer is the usual term in southern England, while Brewster is mainly midland, northern, and Scottish. History: The Mayflower Pilgrim William Brewster (1567–1644) was the son of the bailiff of the manor of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, home of one of the earliest Puritan congregations. He was a prominent leader in Plymouth Colony from the 1620s until his death.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Brewster in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Brewster has slightly decreased over a decade. In 2000, the Brewster surname ranked 1770 and it dropped to 1830 in 2010, marking a change of -3.39. However, even with this drop in ranking, the count of individuals with the Brewster surname increased from 18,554 in 2000 to 19,564 in 2010, a growth of 5.44 percent. The proportion per 100,000 people with this surname also experienced a slight decrease, going from 6.88 in 2000 to 6.63 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,770 | #1,830 | -3.39% |
| Count | 18,554 | 19,564 | 5.44% |
| Proportion per 100k | 6.88 | 6.63 | -3.63% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Brewster
The ethnic identity associated with the Brewster surname shows some changes as well between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The largest increase was seen in the Hispanic category, which grew by 39.39 percent, from 2.64 in 2000 to 3.68 in 2010. There were also increases in the Asian/Pacific Islander category and the Two or More Races category, showing respective increases of 25.64 percent and 15.96 percent. The percentage of Brewsters identifying as Black grew modestly by 2.28 percent while those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native saw a small 2.74 percent increase. Over the decade, however, there was a slight decrease in the number of Brewsters identifying as White, dropping from 74.61 percent in 2000 to 72.72 percent in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 74.61% | 72.72% | -2.53% |
| Black | 19.75% | 20.2% | 2.28% |
| Hispanic | 2.64% | 3.68% | 39.39% |
| Two or More Races | 1.88% | 2.18% | 15.96% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.73% | 0.75% | 2.74% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.39% | 0.49% | 25.64% |
Brewster ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Brewster is British & Irish, which comprises 51.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (22.8%) and Nigerian (3.7%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Eastern European, Ashkenazi Jewish, Italian, and Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 51.0% |
| French & German | 22.8% |
| Nigerian | 3.7% |
| Other | 22.5% |
Possible origins of the surname Brewster
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Brewster have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 81.80% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 81.60% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 81.60% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 81.40% |
| Lancashire, United Kingdom | 80.90% |
What Brewster haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Brewster is I-Z58, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z58 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include I-M253 and R-CTS241, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Sheffield, Power, Workman, Waite, Powers, Petty, Dunlap, Kimbrough, Thurman, Thatcher.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Brewster surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Brewster have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Brewster" Surname 41.2%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Brewster" Surname 16.0%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Brewster" Surname 19.6%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Brewster" Surname 18.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Brewster?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Brewster are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition