BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003).... [more]
BrandybuckLiterature Brandybuck is the surname of Meriadoc, a young Hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." Possibly derived from the Brandywine River, which in turn is derived from Sindarin Baranduin, "Brown River"... [more]
BransbyEnglish (British) English locational name from the village of Bransby in Lincolnshire. The place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Branzbi' and later (1115) as 'Brandesby'. These recordings showing that the derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Brandr meaning "sword" and byr, the whole meaning being "Brand's village" or "homestead"... [more]
BrantingSwedish A combination of Swedish brant "steep hill" and the suffix -ing. A famous bearer was Hjalmar Branting (1860–1925), Prime Minister of Sweden in the 1920s.
BrasFrench, Dutch From Old French and Middle Dutch bras "arm". This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm, but the word was also used as a measure of length, and may also have denoted a surveyor.
BrassardFrench Derivative of bras "arm" most likely applied as a nickname denoting a person with strong arms or perhaps a pugilist.
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.
BrasseurFrench French and English (of both Norman and Huguenot origin): occupational name for a brewer, from Old French brasser ‘to brew’. See also Brasher.
BratovRussian Derived either from Russian брат (brat) meaning "brother" or from a short form Brat of various Old Russian given names.
BratténSwedish (Rare) Composed of the personal name Bratt and the common surname suffix -én (ultimately from Latin -enius "descendant of").
BrattenScottish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac an Bhreatnaich ‘son of the Briton’, originally denoting a Strathclyde Welsh-speaking Briton. It was applied in Ireland also to people from Brittany.
BrauItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from the dialectical term brau, meaning "wild, untamed" in Sardinian and "brave, fierce" or "bull" in Catalan, or from blau "blue, turquoise".
BrauchGerman From Middle High German bruchen "to enjoy".
BräunlichGerman Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin, meaning "brownish" in German.
BraunschweigGerman, Jewish Denoted a person from the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "Bruno's settlement".
BraunsteinGerman, Jewish Ornamental name composed of German braun "brown" and stein "stone".
BraunsteinerGerman (Austrian) This surname means brown stone in German and it may be an ornamental surname or an occupational surname for someone who may have been a miner.
BraxiatelPopular Culture Irving Braxiatel or Cardinal Braxiatel is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures—spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He subsequently became a regular character in novels and audio dramas in the Bernice Summerfield series... [more]
BrayboyLumbee This name origin has roots in a court case in 1716 involving a slave named John. He was charged as "Jack Braveboy, a negro". The spelling Brayboy is scene in 1801 with Stephen Brayboy. It was identified as Native American in 1900 Indian Census Schedule of Robeson County, North Carolina.
BraybrookeEnglish From the name of the Northamptonshire village of Braybrooke, meaning "the broad brook."
BraytonEnglish Derived from the Old Norse name breithr meaning "broad", or the Old Norse personal name Breithi, combined with the Old English suffix tun meaning "town, farmstead".
BreakspearEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who had achieved notable success in jousts or in battle. Nicholas Breakspear (?1100-1159) was the original name of Pope Hadrian IV, the only English pope.
BreedEnglish Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").
BreedingGerman Likely from an ancient Germanic given name, now lost.
BreedingGerman From the Low German brēde "open field". Denotes a person from such a place.
BreedloveEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a likable or popular person (from Middle English breden "to produce" + love). This surname is borne by Craig Breedlove (1937-), US land-speed record holder.
BreithauptGerman Nickname for someone with a broad head, from Middle High German breit "broad" and houbet or houpt "head".
BreitkreutzGerman probably a nickname for a person with a broad butt. Breitkreutz replaced an earlier more transparent form of the surname Breitarsch the use of kreuz (literally "cross") as a euphemism for "buttocks" first occurring in the 17th century... [more]
BreitnerGerman Derived from Middle High German breit meaning "broad, fat, wide". This was either a nickname for a stout or fat person, a topographic name for someone who lived on fertile and flat land, or an occupational name for a farmer who owned such land... [more]
BreitsameterGerman Breitsameter was a person who originated from Breitsamet manor in southern Bavaria.
BreitwieserGerman Derived from German breit "broad" and wisa "meadow".
BreitzmannGerman Eastern German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch wood, ultimately derived from the Slavic stem bres "birch".
BremerGerman Indicated a person from Bremen in the State of Bremen, Germany.
BremnerScottish Derived from the Scottish Gaelic name MacGillebhàin which means "son of the fair-haired one." It is associated with the Clan Bremner, which has roots in the northern parts of Scotland.
BrennaNorwegian Variant of Brenden, a Norwegian surname derived from brenna "land cleared for cultivation by burning" (also known as svedjebruk "slash-and-burn agriculture").
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 Habitational name from any of the various places named Brereton or similar in England, derived from Old English brer "briar" and tun "enclosure, town" or dun "hill, mountain".
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.
BrettonEnglish, French habitational name from any of the places called from Bretton in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, both of which mean "settlement of the Britons", from Old English brettas "Briton" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
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
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.
BridgefordEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from any of the various places called Bridgford or Bridgeford in England or from a lost or unidentified place in Scotland, all possibly derived from Old English brycg "bridge" and ford "ford".
BridgwaterEnglish Habitational name from a town named Bridgwater in Somerset, derived from Old English brycg "bridge" and the given name Walter, after Norman knight Walter of Douai (1046-1107).
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.