# Browning (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/browning/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 43,329 |
| US rank (2010) | 797 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,126 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.6% (42,642 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹaʊnɪŋ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English Brūning, a patronymic for a person nicknamed Brūn (“brown”) (see Brown). For the first half-century of their manufacturer, the majority of semi-automatic handguns in Europe were designed by John M. Browning.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Browning in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Browning in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Browning

- Emily Browning, Australian actress, singer and model
- Tod Browning, American film actor and director (1880–1962)
- Logan Browning, American actress and singer
- Tyias Browning, British-Chinese footballer (born 1994)
- Frederick Browning, British Army general (1896–1965)
- Christopher Browning, American historian of the Holocaust
- Ricou Browning, American film actor and director (1930–2023)
- David Browning, American diver (1931-1956)
- John Browning, American pianist (1933–2003)
- Orville Hickman Browning, American politician (1806-1881)
- Kayle Browning, American sport shooter
- Chris Browning, American television and film actor

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Bruning, Berning, Bruening, Branning, Brennan, Berman, Brannon, Burnham, Branham, Berryman, Brannan, Birmingham.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.