Explore the Family Name Brunner

The meaning of Brunner

1. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived beside a spring or well, Middle High German brun(ne), German Brunnen, or a habitational name for someone from a place so named with this word, for example the city of Brno in Moravia. 2. English (Warwickshire): variant of Burner, itself a variant of Berner 2.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Brunner saw slight fluctuations in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 2207th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had dropped to the 2337th spot, marking a decrease of 5.89%. However, despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of individuals with the Brunner surname increased during this time period from 15,105 to 15,593, an increase of approximately 3.23%. The proportion per 100k also experienced a minor decrease, dropping from 5.6 to 5.29, a change of -5.54%.

20002010Change
Rank#2,207#2,337-5.89%
Count15,10515,5933.23%
Proportion per 100k5.65.29-5.54%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Brunner

When reviewing the ethnic identity associated with the Brunner surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals several changes between 2000 and 2010. The proportion of Brunners identifying as White decreased slightly from 93.19% to 91.8%, while those affiliating with Two or More Races saw a significant increase of 41.67%, jumping from 1.08% to 1.53%. The Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native groups also saw minor increases, with changes of 12.77% and 2.63% respectively. Meanwhile, Hispanic Brunners experienced the highest growth rate at 58.9%, although the overall percentage remained relatively small, increasing from 1.46% to 2.32%. Lastly, the Black population within the Brunner surname represented a very small percentage increase of 0.58%.

20002010Change
White93.19%91.8%-1.49%
Black3.42%3.44%0.58%
Hispanic1.46%2.32%58.9%
Two or More Races1.08%1.53%41.67%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.47%0.53%12.77%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.38%0.39%2.63%

Brunner 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 Brunner is French & German, which comprises 44.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (30.4%) and Eastern European (7.8%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
French & German44.9%
British & Irish30.4%
Eastern European7.8%
Other16.9%
Brunner

Possible origins of the surname Brunner

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 Brunner have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom71.60%
Merseyside, United Kingdom71.30%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom71.30%
West Midlands, United Kingdom71.10%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom71.10%

What Brunner 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 Brunner is R-L23, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-L23 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-U152 and I-S25383, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Bauer, Weber, Wolf, Miller, Zimmerman, Mayer, Schmidt, Becker, Klein, Hoffman.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Brunner surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

brunnerPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages

The spread of haplogroup R-M269 in northern Ireland and Scotland was likely aided by men like Niall of the Nine Hostages. Perhaps more myth than man, Niall of the Nine Hostages is said to have been a King of Tara in northwestern Ireland in the late 4th century C.E. His name comes from a tale of nine hostages that he held from the regions he ruled over. Though the legendary stories of his life may have been invented hundreds of years after he died, genetic evidence suggests that the Uí Néill dynasty, whose name means "descendants of Niall," did in fact trace back to just one man who bore a branch of haplogroup R-M269.The Uí Néill ruled to various degrees as kings of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century C.E. In the highly patriarchal society of medieval Ireland, their status allowed them to have outsized numbers of children and spread their paternal lineage each generation. In fact, researchers have estimated that between 2 and 3 million men with roots in north-west Ireland are paternal-line descendants of Niall.

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.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Brunner 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

Brunner

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Brunner" Surname 44.9%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Brunner

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Brunner" Surname 30.0%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Brunner

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Brunner" Surname 25.0%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Brunner

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Brunner" Surname 16.3%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Brunner?

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 Brunner are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

French & German 60.8%

23andMe Users 57.2%