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Brigham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Brigham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Brigham comes from the family having resided in Yorkshire, where they lived in the village named Brigham. The place-name Brigham is derived from the Old English words Brycg and ham which literally mean bridge and homestead. 1

Early Origins of the Brigham family

The surname Brigham was first found in the East Riding of Yorkshire at Brigham, a township, in the parish of Fostonupon-Wolds, union of Driffield, wapentake of Dickering. Brigham can also be found in the West division of Cumberland where it is a parish of some size. 2

Early History of the Brigham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brigham research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1543, 1555 and 1558 are included under the topic Early Brigham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brigham Spelling Variations

Brigham has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Briggam, Brigham, Brighame and others.

Early Notables of the Brigham family

Distinguished members of the family include

Nicholas Brigham (d. 1558), a Latin scholar and antiquarian, who gave up literature to practice in the law courts...
It is thought that "he was born near Caversham, where his eldest brother Thomas had lands of inheritance, and died in 6 Edward VI, but was descended from the Brighams of Brigham in Yorkshire...
Now one Anthony Brigham was made bailiff of the king's manor of Caversham in 1543...

Brigham Ranking

In the United States, the name Brigham is the 4,946^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3

Brigham migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Brighams to arrive on North American shores:

Brigham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Brigham, who landed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636 4
Richard Brigham, who landed in New Netherland(s) in 1643-1645 4
Richard Brigham, who settled in the New Netherlands in 1645
Thomas Brigham, who settled in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1645

Brigham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

David Brigham, aged 22, who arrived in Delaware in 1803 4
Eliz Brigham, aged 26, who arrived in Delaware in 1803 4
Ezekl Brigham, aged 25, who arrived in Delaware in 1803 4
Jane Brigham, aged 25, who landed in Delaware in 1803 4
John Brigham, aged 26, who landed in Delaware in 1803 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brigham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brigham Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. Louis Brigham, aged 9 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Leontine" departing 28th May 1847 from Bremen, Germany; the ship arrived on 28th July 1847 but he died on board 5

Brigham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Brigham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Brigham, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
John Brigham, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1843
Robert Brigham, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Telegraph" in 1863

Contemporary Notables of the name Brigham (post 1700) +

Albert Perry Brigham (1855-1932), American geologist
Paul Brigham (1746-1824), American Revolutionary soldier and Democratic-Republican politician
William Tufts Brigham (1841-1926), American botanist and ethnologist, first director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum (1898-1918)
Amariah Brigham (1798-1849), American psychiatrist
Asa Brigham (1790-1844), Texan politician and businessman
David Brigham, American politician, Postmaster at Madison, Wisconsin, 1841-42 6
Dan F. Brigham, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Coventry, 1830 6
Clement H. Brigham (b. 1874), American Republican politician, Insurance agent; Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Granby, 1921-22 6
Cephas Brigham, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Coventry, 1825, 1829 6
Asa Brigham (1790-1844), American politician, Mayor of Austin, Texas, 1842-43 6
... (Another 32 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 66)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html