Show ContentsBradish History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Bradish is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived by a large, broad oak tree. The surname is derived from the Old English words brad, which means broad, and ac, which means oak.

Early Origins of the Bradish family

The surname Bradish was first found in Kent where one of the first records of the name was Geoffrey Brodhok who was listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. Thomas del Brodok was listed a few years later in the Assize Rolls of 1282 and later Thomas Broddock was listed in the Nonarum Inquisitiones for Essex in 1341. [1]

One source notes that Braddock of Broadoak is a parish, in the union of Liskeard, hundred of West, E. division of Cornwall and some of the family originated there. [2]

Braddock, Bradock or Broadoak is a parish in the hundred of West, Cornwall. "This parish was taxed in Doomsday under its present name; 'which, if it be single,' says Hals, 'signifies a rebel or traitor; one that betrays the trust or fidelity reposed in him by another; otherwise, if it be compounded of Brad-ock or Brod-ock, it signifies broad trees of oak.' - Saxon. " [3]

Early History of the Bradish family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bradish research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1623, 1643, 1656, 1660, 1672, 1679, 1680, 1695, 1700, 1719 and 1755 are included under the topic Early Bradish History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bradish Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bradish family name include Braddock, Braddick, Braddocke and others.

Early Notables of the Bradish family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • On the infamous side, Joseph Bradish (1672-1700), was an early American pirate in the company of Captain Kidd


United States Bradish migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bradish surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Bradish Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Robert Bradish, who landed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1635 [4]
Bradish Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Wheaton Bradish, aged 22, who landed in New York in 1809 [4]
  • James Bradish, who arrived in Mississippi in 1833 [4]
  • Mrs. Bradish, aged 40, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1850 [4]

Canada Bradish migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bradish Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Royal Bradish, who arrived in Canada in 1829

Contemporary Notables of the name Bradish (post 1700) +

  • Sarah Powers Bradish (1867-1922), American writer, best known for her textbook "Old Norse Stories" published in 1900
  • Luther Bradish (1783-1863), American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York (1839-1842)


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  4. 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)


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