Brisban History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Brisban is an ancient Dalriadan-Scottish nickname for a person who had sustained a broken bone. This surname derived from the Old French word, briser, which means to break, and the Old English word, bàn, which means bone. 1 This was also a nickname, given to a person who was often involved in fights, which resulted in the breaking of bones. Members of the Brisban family were found in the county of Renfrew (now part of the Strathclyde region), in Scotland, where the family can trace its origin to shortly after the Norman Conquest, in 1066.

Alternatively, the name could have derived from "a place where courts were held; brys, a trial at law, and bann, a mount; breasban, the royal mount. The family of Brisbane is of considerable antiquity; the present descendants are in possession of an elbow chair made of oak, having the family arms, with the date 1357 carved on the back." 2

Early Origins of the Brisban family

The surname Brisban was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland.

"Probably the first of the name in Scotland was William Brisbone, whose name appears on a list of archers sent from Berwick to Roxburgh in 1298. Thomas Brisbane or de Birsbane had a charter in Aberdeenshire from Robert I. Alanus dictus Brisbane filius quondam Willelmi Brisbane shortly after 1334 obtained a grant from Donald, earl of Lennox of the land called Mucherach in the earldom of Levenax and of the land called Holmedalmartyne (Levenax, p. 61). In 1358 there is entry of a payment to Alexander Brysban (ER., I, p. 549), and in 1376 Herthornhill was leased to Thomas Brisbane (RHM., I, p. lxvii). Alan Brysban witnessed a charter of the lands of Ballebrochyr and Lechard, c. 1390-1400 (Lennox, II, p. 52). Another Thomas Brysbane, dominus de Latheris, in 1415 witnessed the charter of the barony of Cowie to William de Haya de Erole (SCM., II, p. 321), and in 1417 was present at a perambulation of the lands of Tarwas and Wldny (Udny) (RAA., II, 53). James Birsbane was proprietor of the lands of Reise and Akirgyll in Caithness, 1498 (Laing, 235). The surname is found in Aberdeen in 1401 (CRA., p. 382), in Perth, 1409 (REB., I, 26; II, 16), and in Edinburgh from 1610 onwards as Brisbain, Brisbaine, and Brisben (Edinb. Marr.). The Brisbanes of Bishoptoun acquired the lands of Killincraig and Goga in the parish of Largs, c. 1400. By a Crown charter, dated 1695, the estate was erected into the barony of Brisbane (Ayr Fam., I, p. 136), which thenceforth became the usual territorial designation of the family, 'Brisbane of Brisbane.' Alexander Bisbane, burgess of Dundee, 1674 (Brechin) was doubtless a Brisbane, and so likewise Agnes Bursbean in Colhowis of Dennie, 1622. 1

"In 1332, William Brisbane was Chancellor of Scotland." 3

Today Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland is pronounced "Brisbin." The city is named for the Brisbane River, which is in turn named for Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773-1860), the Scottish-born, 6th Governor of New South Wales at the time of the city's founding.

Early History of the Brisban family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brisban research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1706, 1750, 1758, 1766, 1769, 1773, 1774, 1776, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1787, 1789, 1790, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1801, 1807, 1812, 1826, 1829 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Brisban History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brisban Spelling Variations

Translation in medieval times was an undeveloped science and was often carried out without due care. For this reason, many early Scottish names appeared radically altered when written in English. The spelling variations of Brisban include Brisbane, Brisbine, Birsbain, Birsbaine, Brisblane, Birsben, Brisbin, Birsban and many more.

Early Notables of the Brisban family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Margaret Brisbane, 5th Lady Napier (died 1706), née Napier, a Scottish peer
Sir Charles Brisbane (1769?-1829), rear-admiral, fourth son of Admiral John Brisbane, who died 1807, was in 1779 entered on board the Alcide, commanded by his father, was present at the defeat of the...
Sir James Brisbane (1774-1826), commodore, fifth son of Admiral John Brisbane, and brother of Rear-admiral Sir Charles Brisbane [q. v.], entered the navy in 1787 on board the Culloden. After serving i...
John Brisbane (d. 1776?), physician, a native of Scotland, graduated M.D. at Edinburgh in 1750, and was admitted licentiate of the College of Physicians in 1766. He held the post of physician to the...
Sir Thomas Makdougall-Brisbane 1773-1860), general, colonial governor, and astronomer, was the eldest son of Thomas Brisbane of that ilk, and was born at Brisbane House, Largs in Ayrshire, on 23 July...

Brisban migration to the United States +

Ancestors of many of the Dalriadan families who crossed the Atlantic still live along the east coast of the United States and Canada. Some Scottish settlers arrived in Canada during the American War of Independence as United Empire Loyalists, while others stayed south to fight for a new nation. The descendants of Scottish settlers in both countries began to rediscover their heritage in the 19th and 20th centuries through Clan societies and highland games. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Brisban or a variant listed above:

Brisban Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Brisban, who landed in New York in 1819 4
Madelaine Brisban, aged 23, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 4

The Brisban Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Certamine summo
Motto Translation: In the battle's height.

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)