Bradney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Bradney is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Bradney family lived in the town and parish of Bradney in county Somerset. The name was originally derived from the Old English word "bradeney," which means "the dweller at the broad island."

Early Origins of the Bradney family

The surname Bradney was first found in Somerset where the family claim descent from Sir Simon de Bredenie in 1346. 1 This is probably the same gentleman who was listed as Simon de Bradneghe in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327. William de Bradney was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. 2 Another source notes that Simon de Bardeneye was Mayor of Bristol in 1276 and Abbas de Bardeneye was listed in Lincolnshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 3

Early History of the Bradney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bradney research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1346 is included under the topic Early Bradney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bradney Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Bradney, Bradnie, Bredenie and others.

Early Notables of the Bradney family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Bradney, High Sheriff of Somerset

Bradney migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Bradney name or one of its variants:

Bradney Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Bradney who settled in Virginia in 1653

Bradney 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:

Bradney Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Joseph Bradney, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Mermaid" in 1859 4
Emily Bradney, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Mermaid" in 1859 4
James Henry Bradney, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Mermaid" in 1859 4
William Thomas Bradney, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Mermaid" in 1859 4
Isabella Bradney, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Mermaid" in 1859 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bradney (post 1700) +

Claude C. Bradney, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kansas, 1944 5
James Henry Bradney (1853-1936), New Zealand Reform Party Member of Parliament
Colonel Sir Joseph Alfred Bradney FSA, BA, JP, DL (1859-1933), British soldier, historian and archaeologist
Anthony Bradney, Professor of Law at Sheffield University

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html