Explore the Family Name Brunke

The meaning of Brunke

1. South German: from Middle High German brunke ‘splendor’, hence probably a nickname for an ostentatious dresser. 2. North German: from a pet form of the personal name Brun(o) or the byname Brūn (see Brun). Some characteristic forenames: German Erhardt, Ernst, Erwin, Otto.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the Brunke surname saw a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, its rank was 26,855, which dropped to 28,883 in 2010, marking a decrease of 7.55%. The count also decreased from 851 to 823 during this period, representing a decrease of 3.29%. Furthermore, the proportion of the Brunke surname per 100,000 individuals fell by 12.5%, moving from 0.32 in 2000 to 0.28 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#26,855	#28,883	-7.55%
Count	851	823	-3.29%
Proportion per 100k	0.32	0.28	-12.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Brunke

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data showed some changes for those carrying the Brunke surname. The percentage identifying as White decreased slightly from 96.71% in 2000 to 93.2% in 2010. However, there was significant growth in the Hispanic population, which increased from 1.18% to 3.52% over the same decade, marking a surge of 198.31%. Meanwhile, there was a modest increase in those identifying with two or more races, from 1.41% in 2000 to 2.19% in 2010, a change of 55.32%. Additionally, the census recorded a small American Indian and Alaskan Native population (0.61%) for the first time in 2010. There were no changes in the Asian/Pacific Islander and Black categories, both remained at 0.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.71%	93.2%	-3.63%
Hispanic	1.18%	3.52%	198.31%
Two or More Races	1.41%	2.19%	55.32%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.61%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%