Explore the Family Name Brill
The meaning of Brill
1. English: habitational name from Brill in Buckinghamshire, named with the Celtic element bre- ‘hill’ + Old English hyll also ‘hill’. 2. North German and Dutch: habitational name from any of various places in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands named Brill, from Middle Low German brūl, bröil ‘wet lowland’. Compare German Bruehl. 3. German: from Middle Low German brill ‘eyeglasses’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spectacles or perhaps a nickname for someone who wore them. 4. Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name, most likely Yude (Juda) Leyb. Many Ashkenazic surnames beginning with Br- and Bar- are of acronymic origin, but without detailed evidence from family histories it is impossible to specify the personal name from which each is derived.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Brill in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Brill has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the decade between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 3,598th most popular surname but had fallen to 3,841st by 2010, reflecting a 6.75% dip. Despite the drop in rank, the actual count of individuals with the Brill surname increased modestly from 9,069 in 2000 to 9,215 in 2010, marking a 1.61% rise. However, when considering the proportion per 100,000 people, there was a 7.14% decrease from 3.36 in 2000 to 3.12 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,598 | #3,841 | -6.75% |
| Count | 9,069 | 9,215 | 1.61% |
| Proportion per 100k | 3.36 | 3.12 | -7.14% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Brill
The distribution of ethnicity for the Brill surname also shows some changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The largest ethnic identity group remains White, although its share decreased slightly from 95.19% in 2000 to 93.56% in 2010. There was a notable increase in the proportions of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (from 0.73% to 1.09%), those reporting two or more races (from 0.96% to 1.51%), and those identifying as Hispanic (from 1.91% to 2.68%). On the other hand, the proportions of individuals identifying as Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native saw minor changes, with a decrease from 0.68% to 0.58% for the former, and an increase from 0.53% to 0.59% for the latter.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.19% | 93.56% | -1.71% |
| Hispanic | 1.91% | 2.68% | 40.31% |
| Two or More Races | 0.96% | 1.51% | 57.29% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.73% | 1.09% | 49.32% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.53% | 0.59% | 11.32% |
| Black | 0.68% | 0.58% | -14.71% |
Brill 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 Brill is British & Irish, which comprises 30.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (28.3%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (18.2%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 30.4% |
| French & German | 28.3% |
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 18.2% |
| Other | 23.2% |
Possible origins of the surname Brill
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 Brill have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 66.40% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 66.40% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 66.00% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 66.00% |
| Lancashire, United Kingdom | 65.60% |
What Brill 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 Brill is R-L2, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-L2 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and R-DF19, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Sager, Beyer, Hudson, Doe, Rhodes, Robert, Winters, Snider, Busch, Fletcher.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Brill surname are: H1, H, V. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your 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 Brill 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.
"Brill" Surname 43.9%
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.
"Brill" Surname 28.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Brill" Surname 19.1%
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.
"Brill" Surname 20.4%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Brill?
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 Brill are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition