Breakspear History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Breakspear comes from a name for a person who is victor in a tournament or battle.

Early Origins of the Breakspear family

The surname Breakspear was first found in Hertfordshire at Breakspear College in Abbots Langley, Three Rivers, Hertfordshire which is now a Grade II Listed Building and thought to have originally been built c. 1770 as a rebuilding of an earlier house. The present name commemorates Nicholas Breakspear (c. 1100-1159), born in Abbots Langley, who, as Pope Adrian IV, became the only English Pope in 1154. (British Listed Buildings)

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) in his novel Manalive mentions the Warden of Brakespeare (Brikespeare) College, Cambridge University, but this is a fictional reference.

Early History of the Breakspear family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breakspear research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Breakspear History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breakspear Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Breakspear include Brakespear, Breakspear, Brakespeare, Breakspeare and others.

Early Notables of the Breakspear family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Nicholas Breakspeare was obviously the most famous notable of this name, the early English ecclesiastic, who became Pope Adrian, the only English Pope to sit on the throne of Rome...

Migration of the Breakspear family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Breakspear or a variant listed above: Jane Breakspeare who settled in New England in 1773.

Contemporary Notables of the name Breakspear (post 1700) +

Mark Breakspear (b. 1973), English film visual effects person
Michael Breakspear, Australian professor at the School of Physics, University of Sydney, Australia