by Menke (guest)
11/8/2005, 6:32 AM
the reason it is known in Holland is because there's a city called Breda, so it's also a toponymic Dutch surname, often as "van Breda".
melegnano.net about Italian Breda:
Breda ha un nucleo lombardo tra milanese, bergamasco e bresciano ed uno veneto tra padovano e trevisano, deriva o da toponimi come Breda di Piave (TV), Breda Libera (BS) o da nomi di località, originate dal termine di origine longobarda brayda che nel basso medioevo aveva il significato di campo erboso
translated:
Breda has a Lombardian core between Milan, Bergamo and Brescia and a Venetian between Padova and Treviso, derives from toponyms like Breda di Piave (TV), Breda Libera (BS) or from names of localities, originating in the term of Longobardan (Germanic) origin brayda which in Low Middle Ages had the meaning of "field covered with grass/herbs".