Explore the Family Name Giesbrecht

The meaning of Giesbrecht

German: from a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements gis (from gīsil ‘pledge, hostage, noble offspring’; see Giesel) + berht ‘bright, famous’, a cognate of Giselbert (see Gilbert). Some characteristic forenames: German Erna, Franz, Reinold, Wilhelm.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Giesbrecht has seen a significant increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. The ranking of this surname rose from 24,271 in 2000 to 20,394 in 2010, marking an impressive 15.97% increase. Furthermore, the count of individuals with the Giesbrecht surname grew by 34.61%, from 968 in 2000 to 1,303 in 2010. This increase also impacted the proportion per 100k, which saw a rise of 22.22% over the same decade.

20002010Change
Rank#24,271#20,39415.97%
Count9681,30334.61%
Proportion per 100k0.360.4422.22%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Giesbrecht

When we examine the ethnic identity associated with the Giesbrecht surname as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, there are noticeable changes between 2000 and 2010. The majority of those bearing the surname identify as White, although the percentage dropped slightly from 94.83% in 2000 to 91.48% in 2010. The Hispanic identity showed a significant increase of 186.64% over the decade, moving from 2.17% to 6.22%. Individuals identifying as Two or More Races decreased from 1.96% to 1.46%, whereas the Asian/Pacific Islander identity also saw a small drop from 0.83% to 0.77%. There were no recorded changes for Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native identities.

20002010Change
White94.83%91.48%-3.53%
Hispanic2.17%6.22%186.64%
Two or More Races1.96%1.46%-25.51%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.83%0.77%-7.23%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%