Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Brindle EnglishFrom the name of a town in Lancashire, England, derived from Old English
burna "stream, spring, brook" and
hyll "hill".
Brindley EnglishHabitational name from a place in England so named. From Old English
berned "burnt" and
leah "woodland clearing".
Briner German (Swiss)Habitational name for someone from Brin in Grison canton (Graubünden) or from the Brin valley.
Brinker German, DutchDerived from
brink "edge, slope" or "village green", indicating that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land or next to the centre of a village.
Brinsley EnglishFrom a place meaning "brun's clearing" or "brown clearing" with the elements
brun "brown" and
leah "meadow, clearing".
Brinton EnglishEnglish locational surname, taken from the town of the same name in Norfolk. The name means "settlement belonging to Brun" - the personal name coming from the
Old English word for "fire, flame".
Brion FrenchRefers to any of several places of the same name. Derived from Gaulish
briga "height, hill" and the suffix
-one.
Brion GalicianRefers to a place of the same name from the province A Coruña in pre-Roman Galicia.
Briones SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.
Brisbane ScottishNickname derived from Old French
bris(er) meaning "to break" and Old English
ban meaning "bone". The sense of this hybrid name is not clear; it may have been used for someone crippled by a broken bone or for a violent man who broke other people’s bones.
Briscoe EnglishFrom any of the various places of this name or similar, derived from Old Norse
bretar "Briton, Welsh" or
birki "birch" and
skógr "forest, wood".
Brissenden EnglishDerived from either of two places in Kent, England called
Brissenden (one near Frittenden and the other near Tenterden), both named with the Old English given name
Breosa (a byname derived from
bresa meaning "gadfly") and Old English
denn meaning "woodland pasture (for swine)".
Brito PortugueseThe Brito family has its original roots in the village of Brito, around 1033 of the Christian era, where Dom Hero de Brito, lord of many estates in Oliveira, Carrazelo and Subilhães, all located between the Ave River and Portela dos Leitões, a very rich region and where the Solar dos Brito was located.
Brizendine French, English, JewishDerived from a personal name, probably of Celtic origin (Latinized as Britus), which was borne by a 5th century saint, who succeeded St. Martin as bishop of Tours.
Brizuela SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Valdeporres.
Br Maharaja f BatakFeminine form of
Maharaja. The
Br (short form of
boru, pronounced BOH-roo) part is a nickname for women in Bataknese (except Karo tribe).
Broadhead EnglishFrom Old English
brad "wide, broad" and
heafod "head", a topographic name for someone who lived by a broad headland.
Broccoli Italian, SicilianFrom the Italian plural for “The flowering crest of a cabbage”. Best known as the surname of the (Calabrian-originated) Sicilian American family who made James
Bond internationally famous, by making movies (loosely) based on the books where the titular antihero himself appeared.
Brochtrup GermanPossibly indicated someone who was from a farm called
Brochtrup in the town of Lüdinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is American actor Bill Brochtrup (1963-).
Brocker GermanNorth German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook
bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
Brockhaus GermanOccupational hereditary surname for a person who was physically powerful, derived from Old German brock which may refer to persons with a stocky or strong build. Or derived from Old German "Brook" or "Brauk," for people near a marshy landscape, common in northern regions.
Brockman GermanGerman in origin, in heraldry a "brock" is represented by a badger. It could mean wet/water and man. It also has been said to mean broker.
Brockmann Low GermanDenoted someone who lived in or by a marsh, from Middle Low German
brok "swamp, marsh" (see
brōkaz) and
man "person, man".
Brocos GalicianThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Agolada in the Comarca of O Deza.
Brod JewishEither derived from German
Brot "bread" or taken from one of the various towns named
Brod in Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia or from one of the towns named
Brody in Ukraine and Poland.
Brodén SwedishLikely composed of Swedish
bro "bridge" and the common surname suffix
-én (ultimately derived from Latin
-enius).
Broderick Irish, Welsh, EnglishSurname which comes from two distinct sources. As a Welsh surname it is derived from
ap Rhydderch meaning "son of
Rhydderch". As an Irish surname it is an Anglicized form of
Ó Bruadair meaning "descendent of Bruadar"... [
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Brodsky CzechHabitational name derived from a number of places, including Bohemia.
Brodziński PolishHabitational name for someone from a place called for example Brudzyń (formerly Brodzino) in Konin voivodeship, or Brodna in Piła voivodeship.
Broeders DutchFrom Middle Dutch
broeder "brother, colleague" or "friar, monk, clergyman". Compare the German surname
Bruder.
Broflovski Popular CultureKyle Broflovski (sometimes spelled Kyle Broflovski, Broslovski, Broslofski, Brovlofski or Broflofski) is a main character in the animated television series South Park.
Brogden EnglishFrom the name of a place in West Yorkshire meaning "valley brook", from Old English
broc "brook" and
denu "valley".
Brogni ItalianPossibly from the dialectical term
brogneau meaning "wild plum", or figuratively "foreigner".
Broker EnglishName given to someone who worked as a broker, an agent for the sale and purchase of goods and services. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Anglo-French word brocour, which has the same meaning as the English word broker
Brolin SwedishComposed of Swedish
bro "bridge" and the common surname suffix
-in.
Bromley EnglishHabitational name from any of the many places so called in England. Most of them derived from Old English
brom "common broom" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Bromwell EnglishHabitational name from Broomwell in Herefordshire named in Old English with brom ‘broom’ + wella ‘spring’, ‘stream’.
Bronikowski PolishHabitational name from any of several places called Broniki or Bronikowo, in Konin, Leszczno, Piła, and Sieradz provinces.
Brook GermanFrom Low German
brook meaning "marsh, swamp".
Brooksby EnglishMeans "farm by a brook". From Old English
broc "brook, small stream" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement"
Broomby EnglishA surname well represented in Cheshire, and Nottinghamshire.
Broomfield EnglishFrom a place name meaning "gorse field", from Old English
brom "gorse" and
feld "field, open country".
Brophy Irish (Anglicized)Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bróithe ‘descendant of Bróth’, a personal name or byname of unknown origin. Also Anglicized as Broy.
Brosnan IrishAnglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Brosnacháin meaning "descendant of Brosnachán", a given name derived from
Brosna, a small village and parish in County Kerry, Ireland. A well-known bearer is the Irish actor Pierce Brosnan (1953-).
Brot AlsatianDerived from German
Brot "bread", this surname was given to someone who sold or baked bread.
Brough EnglishHabitational name derived from any place called Brough, named with Old English
burh "fortress" (compare English and Irish
Burke).
Brougham EnglishFrom the parish of Brougham in Westmoreland, derived from Old English
burg "stronghold" +
ham "piece of land".
Broughton EnglishHabitational name from any of the many places so called in England. The first name element is derived from Old English
broc "brook",
burh "fortress", or
beorg "castle". The second element is derived from Old English
tun "settlement, dwelling".
Br Sinaga f BatakFeminine form of
Sinaga. The
Br (short form of
boru, pronounced BOH-roo) part is a nickname for women in Bataknese.
Br Siregar f BatakFeminine form of
Siregar. The
Br (short form of
boru, pronounced BOH-roo or BUH-roo) part is a nickname for women in Bataknese.
Br Tarigan f BatakFeminine form of
Tarigan. The
Br (short form of
beru, pronounced BOH-roo or BUH-roo) part is a nickname for women in Bataknese, specifically in the Karo tribe.
Bruch GermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or a stream that frequently flooded, from Middle High German
bruoch "water meadow" or "marsh" (cognate to old English
broc "brook", "stream" cf... [
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Brück GermanTopographic name for someone who lived near a bridge, or an occupational name for a bridge keeper or toll collector on a bridge, from Middle High German
bruck(e) "bridge".
Bruck JewishFrom Polish, Belorussian, or Yiddish
bruk "pavement", possibly an occupational name for a paver.
Brucker JewishFrom Polish
brukarz or Yiddish
bruk "pavement", possibly an occupational name for a paver.
Bruckner GermanTopographic name for someone living by a bridge or an occupational name for a bridge toll collector; a variant of
Bruck with the addition of the suffix -ner.
Brucks GermanA variant of the German based surname 'Bruck', which roughly means 'bridge'.
Bruder GermanFrom a byname meaning "brother", occasionally used for a younger son, i.e. the brother of someone important, or for a guild member.
Brueckner German, German (Silesian)German (Brückner): from Middle Low German brugge, Middle High German brugge, brücke, brügge ‘bridge’ + the agent suffix -ner, hence a topographic name for someone living by a bridge, an occupational name for a bridge toll collector, or in the southeast (Silesia for example) a bridge keeper or repairer... [
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Brueggemann Low German, GermanNorth German (Brüggemann): topographic name for someone who lived near a bridge or a metonymic occupational name for a bridge keeper or street paver, Middle Low German brüggeman (see
Bruckman,
Brueckner).
Brueggert Germanic (Anglicized)Translated literally, the name means "bridge-man," and referred to the occupation of taking toll at bridges. The name was found most frequently in Frankfurt in the 12th and 13th centuries. North German (Brügger) and South German: occupational name for a bridge keeper paver or road builder... [
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Brueghel Dutch, FlemishFrom the name of various places in the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium, for example the village of
Breugel in North Brabant. Their names mean "enclosed area, hunting preserve" in Dutch. This was the surname of a Dutch-Flemish family of artists who were influential during the Renaissance period in the Low Countries... [
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Bruen GermanThis is my 2nd great uncle's wife's Surname of German ancestry.
Bruggeman Dutch, FlemishMeans "bridgeman" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who operated, guarded, or otherwise worked on a bridge. It could also denote someone who lived near a bridge, or who came from the Flemish city of
Bruges, which also derives from Old Dutch
brugga "bridge".
Brüggemann GermanName for someone who worked as a street paver or bridge keeper, or someone who lived near a bridge. From Middle Low German
brügge "bridge" or
brüggeman "street paver".
Brugger German, AmericanSouth German variant or Americanized spelling of North German Brügger (see
Bruegger). habitational name for someone from any of various (southern) places called Bruck or Brugg in Bavaria and Austria.
Brühl German, JewishTopographic name for someone who lived by a swampy area, derived from Middle High German
brüel and Middle Low German
brul meaning "swampy land with brushwood". It may also be a habitational name from various places named
Brühl in Germany.
Brumbaugh GermanicBrumbaugh is derived from towns of the same name, located in various regions of Germany: from "in der Brumbach" a farm near Müsen, Germany, or in the town of Brombach, Swabia and or Switzerland.
Brumby EnglishEnglish habitational name from a place in Lincolnshire named Brumby, from the Old Norse personal name
Brúni or from Old Norse
brunnr "well" +
býr "farmstead, village".
Bruneau FrenchDerived from a diminutive form of French
brun "brown", a nickname for a person with brown hair or skin.
Brunette French (Quebec)Variant of Brunet, reflecting the French Canadian pattern of pronouncing the final -t, which is not pronounced in metropolitan French.
Bruney EnglishFirst found in Languedoc, France, possibly meaning "brown."
Brunke GermanNickname for an ostentatious dresser, from Middle High German
brunke "splendor".
Bruns FrenchBruns was first found in Poitou where this noble family held a family seat since ancient times. The Bruns surname derives from the French word "brun," meaning "brown"; possibly a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in the color brown.
Brunton English (Rare)From Old English
burna meaning "stream" and
tun, settlement; hence, "settlement by a stream".
Brush Scottish (Rare)Quite literally means "brush". Might derive from the Scottish Gaelic word
bhrus which means "brush", or the Latin root
br which means "explained". Was a nickname for those described to 'look like a brush'(i.e. hair that sticks up, thin with a big head, etc.)
Bruski PolishHabitational surname for someone from a place called Brus.
Brusse FrenchTopographic name for someone living in a scrubby area of country, from Old French
broce meaning "brushwood, scrub". It is also occupational name for a brush maker, from Old French
brusse meaning "brush".