Explore the Family Name Bruen

The meaning of Bruen

1. Irish: variant of Breen. 2. North German (Brün): from Middle Low German brūn ‘brown’, hence probably a nickname for someone with brown hair or a dark complexion or for someone who habitually wore brown clothes. Compare Braun and Brun. Some characteristic forenames: Irish Dermot, Finbarr.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Bruen rose slightly between 2000 and 2010. The rank improved from 23,152 in 2000 to 23,100 in 2010, which represents a minor change of 0.22 percent. In terms of count, the number of people bearing the surname increased by 7.39 percent during this period, growing from 1,029 in 2000 to 1,105 in 2010. Despite this growth, the proportion per 100k dropped slightly by -2.63 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#23,152	#23,100	0.22%
Count	1,029	1,105	7.39%
Proportion per 100k	0.38	0.37	-2.63%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bruen

On the subject of ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, a significant portion of those with the Bruen surname identify as White, representing 87.42 percent in 2010, down from 91.16 percent in 2000. Those identifying as Black made up 6.88 percent in 2010, seeing a rise of 14.10 percent from the previous census. There was also a marked increase in individuals identifying as Two or more races, jumping from 0.78 percent in 2000 to 2.35 percent in 2010. Additionally, there was an increase in those identifying as Hispanic, going up from 1.36 percent in 2000 to 2.44 percent in 2010. No individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	91.16%	87.42%	-4.1%
Black	6.03%	6.88%	14.1%
Hispanic	1.36%	2.44%	79.41%
Two or More Races	0.78%	2.35%	201.28%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%