Explore the Family Name Bruin

The meaning of Bruin

1. Dutch: from a personal name based on Middle Dutch bruun ‘brown’, or a nickname referring to the color of the hair or complexion. Compare De Bruin and Bruyn. 2. English: of uncertain origin. It may, as Reaney suggested, reflect a pronunciation of French Brun ‘brown’. 3. Altered form of Swiss Bruhin, unexplained.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Bruin has seen a decline in popularity over the past decade. In 2000, it ranked 34,673 in terms of frequency but fell to 38,484 by 2010. This represents a decrease of nearly 11%. The overall count of individuals bearing the surname Bruin also dropped by approximately 7%, with 617 recorded in 2000 and only 575 in 2010. Correspondingly, the proportion of individuals named Bruin per 100,000 people fell by 17.39% from 0.23 to 0.19.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#34,673	#38,484	-10.99%
Count	617	575	-6.81%
Proportion per 100k	0.23	0.19	-17.39%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bruin

In terms of ethnicity, according to the Decennial U.S. Census, the majority of people with the surname Bruin identified as White in both 2000 and 2010 (87.52% and 84.87% respectively), although this percentage did see a decline of just over 3%. The second largest ethnic group within the Bruin surname was Black, which saw an impressive increase, jumping from 9.40% in 2000 to 13.57% in 2010. Those identifying as two or more races decreased by 46.26%, from 2.27% in 2000 to 1.22% in 2010. No individuals with the surname Bruin identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	87.52%	84.87%	-3.03%
Black	9.4%	13.57%	44.36%
Two or More Races	2.27%	1.22%	-46.26%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%