Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BrennerGerman, German (Austrian), Jewish Derived from Middle High German brennen "to burn". Both as a German and a Jewish name, this was an occupational name for a distiller of spirits. As a German surname, however, it also occasionally referred to a charcoal or lime burner or to someone who cleared forests by burning.
BrentonEnglish habitational name primarily from Brenton near Exminster possibly named in Old English as Bryningtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Bryni" (a personal name from Old English bryne "fire flame") or "Bryni's town".
BreretonEnglish From the name of locations in Cheshire and Staffordshire, England. The name is derived from Old English brér "briar" + tún "enclosure, farmstead".
BresnahanIrish (Anglicized) Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Brosnacháin (See Brosnan). Roger Bresnahan (1879-1944) was an American player and manager in Major League Baseball.
BresserEnglish The surname is derived from the old English word brasian, meaning to make out of brass. This would indicate that the original bearer of the name was a brass founder by trade. The name is also derived from the old English Broesian which means to cast in brass and is the occupational name for a worker in brass.
BrewtonEnglish Variant spelling of the habitational name Bruton, from a place in Somerset, so named with a Celtic river name meaning 'brisk' + Old English tun 'farmstead'.
BreyetteEnglish (American) Of uncertain origin and meaning. First found in the United States around 1880. Self-taught artist Michael Breyette is a bearer of this surname
BrezhnevRussian, Ukrainian Denoted a person from Brezhnevo, a rural village in the Kursky District, Kursk Oblast, Russia. The most notable bearer was Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), a leader of the Soviet Union.
BriatoreItalian This surname originates from the province of Cuneo in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is probably derived from Piedmontese brijador meaning "postilion, coachman", which itself is ultimately derived from Piedmontese bria meaning "bridles, reins".... [more]
BricknerGerman Derived from "brückenbauer," which means "bridge builder" in English. It was originally an occupational name for someone who built bridges. Over time, the name Brickner was likely shortened from Brückenbauer to its current form.
BridonFrench (Rare) Patronymic surname derived from French bride "bridle, harness", this name used to denote a maker or merchant of bridle, harness or horse-gear and more generally a saddler.
BridsonEnglish Anglicization of Mac Giolla-Bríghhde, contracted to Mac Bríghde.
BrierEnglish Derived from Old English brer "briar, bramble", a topographic name for someone who lived near a briar patch, or a nickname for a prickly, irritable person.
BrightwenEnglish From either of the two Old English given names Beohrtwine (a masculine name which meant "bright friend") or Beohrtwynn (a feminine name which meant "bright joy").
BrignacFrench Creole Came from numerous French territories such as Corrèze and Hérault.
BrinkLow German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish Means "village green" or "hill, slope, edge of a field or steep place". As a Swedish name, it’s ornamental.
BrinkerGerman, Dutch Derived 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.
BrinkleyEnglish "From Brinca's Field" or "Field in the forest"
BrintonEnglish English 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".
BrionFrench Refers to any of several places of the same name. Derived from Gaulish briga "height, hill" and the suffix -one.
BrisbaneScottish Nickname 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.
BrissendenEnglish Derived 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)".
BritoPortuguese The 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.
BrizendineFrench, English, Jewish Derived 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.
BrizuelaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Valdeporres.
BroccoliItalian, Sicilian From 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.
BrochtrupGerman Possibly 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-).
BrockerGerman North German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BrockettEnglish From the Old French words broque and brocke.
BrockhausGerman Occupational 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.
BrockmanGerman German 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.
BrockmannLow German Denoted someone who lived in or by a marsh, from Middle Low German brok "swamp, marsh" (see brōkaz) and man "person, man".
BrocosGalician This indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Agolada in the Comarca of O Deza.
BrodJewish Either 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.
BrodénSwedish Likely composed of Swedish bro "bridge" and the common surname suffix -én (ultimately derived from Latin -enius).
BroderickIrish, Welsh, English Surname 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"... [more]
BrodzińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called for example Brudzyń (formerly Brodzino) in Konin voivodeship, or Brodna in Piła voivodeship.
BroedersDutch From Middle Dutch broeder "brother, colleague" or "friar, monk, clergyman". Compare the German surname Bruder.
BroflovskiPopular Culture Kyle Broflovski (sometimes spelled Kyle Broflovski, Broslovski, Broslofski, Brovlofski or Broflofski) is a main character in the animated television series South Park.
BrogdenEnglish From the name of a place in West Yorkshire meaning "valley brook", from Old English broc "brook" and denu "valley".
BrogdonEnglish Variant of Brogden The valley of the brook a rural place now in Lancanshire, England.
BrokerEnglish Name 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
BromleyEnglish Habitational name from any of the many places so called in England. Most of them derived from Old English brom "broom" and leah "woodland clearing".
BrophyIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bróithe ‘descendant of Bróth’, a personal name or byname of unknown origin. Also Anglicized as Broy.
BrosnanIrish Anglicized 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-).
BroughEnglish Habitational name derived from any place called Brough, named with Old English burh "fortress" (compare English and Irish Burke).
BroughamEnglish From the parish of Brougham in Westmoreland, derived from Old English burg "stronghold" + ham "piece of land".
BroughtonEnglish Habitational 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".
BruchGerman Topographic 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... [more]
BrückGerman Topographic 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".
BruckJewish From Polish, Belorussian, or Yiddish bruk "pavement", possibly an occupational name for a paver.
BrucknerGerman Topographic 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.
BrucksGerman A variant of the German based surname 'Bruck', which roughly means 'bridge'.
BruderGerman From a byname meaning "brother", occasionally used for a younger son, i.e. the brother of someone important, or for a guild member.
BruecknerGerman, 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... [more]
BrueggemannLow German, German North 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).
BrueggerLow German North German (Brügger): occupational name for a bridge keeper, paver, or road builder, Middle Low German brügger. Compare Brueggemann.
BrueggertGermanic (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... [more]