Contents [hide]

Brain History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Brain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Brain is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Brain family lived in Gloucestershire. The family is believed to have been from Brain, near Hainaut in Normandy where they were nobles of the order of St. Empire or at Brain in Anjou. 1

Early Origins of the Brain family

The surname Brain was first found in Norfolk where Ketell Brain was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1166. Later Walter Brayn was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. 2 Matthew de Brain occurs in Yorkshire 1199. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 recorded Alicia Brayn, Cambridgeshire; Helena Brayn, Huntingdonshire; and John Brayn, Cambridgeshire. 3

"A family of Brain held lands in the parish of Little Dean [Gloucestershire] from the time of Elizabeth up to last century, and the name still occurs there. The Brains also owned the manor of Stanton [Chippenham, Wiltshire] 300 years ago. This is an ancient English name: it was represented in Hunts in the reign of Edward I." 4

Further to the north in Scotland, Thomas Brayne of Baldowy was witness in 1462, and David Brane, artium magister, 1477. David Brane was witness in Aberdeen, 1492. John Brane signed the Band of Dumfries, 1570, Roger Brain in Allegawin, parish of Glenbervie, 1601, and four more of the name are recorded in Brechin Commissariot Record. 5 In Scotland, the name often appears as MacBryane. 2

Early History of the Brain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brain research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1580, 1605, 1686 and 1751 are included under the topic Early Brain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brain 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 Brain, Braine, Brayne, Brane, Brayn and others.

Early Notables of the Brain family

More information is included under the topic Early Brain Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brain Ranking

In the United States, the name Brain is the 18,792^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Brain 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 Brain name or one of its variants:

Brain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Elizabeth Brain who settled in New England in 1754

Brain Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joaquin Duran Brain, who arrived in New York, NY in 1827 7
John Brain, aged 44, who arrived in New York in 1851 7
James Brain, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1852 7

Brain migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Brain Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Brain, English convict who was convicted in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "England"on 28th April 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. William Brain, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Malachi Brain, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "William Mitchell" in 1840 10
Louisa Brain, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "William Mitchell" in 1840 10
Sarah Brain, English convict from Oxford, who was transported aboard the "Angelina" on April 25, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brain 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:

Brain Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Brain, British settler arriving as Detachment of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Sir George Symour" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 26th November 1847 12
Mrs. Harriet Brain née Southwell, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Sir George Symour" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 26th November 1847 12
Joseph D. Brain, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Aloe" in 1863
Mr. Walter Brain, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th March 1863 12
Mr. William Brain, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th March 1863 12

Contemporary Notables of the name Brain (post 1700) +

Dave Brain (1879-1959), English-born, American Major League Baseball player
Brian Maurice Brain (1940-2023), English first-class cricketer for Worcestershire and Gloucestershire
Walter Russell Brain (1895-1966), English Neurologist, 1st Baron Brain
Dennis Brain (1921-1957), English horn player
Aubrey Harold Brain (1893-1955), English horn player
Charles Kimberlin "Bob" Brain (1931-2023), South African paleontologist who studied and taught African cave taphonomy for more than fifty years
John Brain (1961-2012), British rugby player
Gary Clifford Dennis Brain (b. 1943), New Zealand conductor and former musician
Sir Hugh Gerner Brain (1890-1976), Australian, army officer, businessman, and public servant
Brain Redfearn (b. 1935), English former professional footballer

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) WILLIAM MITCHELL 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840WilliamMitchell.gif
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Angelina voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 171 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/angelina/1844
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html