Brening History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe name Brening comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It was a name for a person with brown hair or a dark complexion. The surname Brening is derived from the Old English word bruning, which was in common usage until the 14th century. 1 This word is itself a derivative of the word brun, which means brown. The name was in usage as a personal name as early as 1086, when Bruning de Cestretona was recorded as a holding lands in Cambridgeshire. 2 Early Origins of the Brening familyThe surname Brening was first found in Cambridgeshire but by the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name had scattered throughout most of ancient Britain. By example, that rolls listed Henry Brunwyne, Staffordshire; John Brunwyn, Suffolk; Richard Brunwyn, Lincolnshire; Avice Bruning, Cambridgeshire; John Bruning, Norfolk; Roger Bruning, London; and Ivo Brunig, Huntingdonshire. 3 Kirby's Quest listed the name as a forename and a surname: Brounyng le Fox, Somerset, 1 Edward I; and Brounyng Bycheheye, Somerset, 1 Edward I (during the first year of King Edward I's reign.) 4 "Browning is an old and often distinguished county name: there was an ancient family of this name at Cowley, [in Oxfordshire] where they long resided." 5 As time moved on, spellings changed. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Agnes Brownyng, a spelling closer to the spellings used today. 3 A little further to the north in Scotland, early records there included John Brwnyng, as one of the "burgenses rure manentes" of Aberdeen, 1317, and "Sir John Browning was sheriff there in 1328. Willelmus Bronnyng in the parish of Fyvy was excommunicated in 1382. " 6 Early History of the Brening familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brening research. Another 199 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1291, 1328, 1382, 1580, 1584, 1634, 1639, 1647, 1658, 1664, 1667 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Brening History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Brening Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Brening has undergone many spelling variations, including Browning, Brownyng, Bruning, Brownigg, Brownygg and many more. Early Notables of the Brening familyNotables of the family at this time include John Browning (fl. 1584), English divine, matriculated as a sizar at Trinity College, Cambridge, on 14 Nov. 1658. On 8 July 1580 Browning was created D.D. at Oxford. Another John Browning was...
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Brening were among those contributors: Brening Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
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