Brainerd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Brainerd reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Brainerd 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 Brainerd family

The surname Brainerd 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 Brainerd family

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

Brainerd Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Brainerd family name include Brain, Braine, Brayne, Brane, Brayn and others.

Early Notables of the Brainerd family

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

Brainerd Ranking

In the United States, the name Brainerd is the 17,431^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Brainerd migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Brainerd family to immigrate North America:

Brainerd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Daniel Brainerd, aged 8, who arrived in Hartford, Connecticut in 1649 7

Brainerd Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Brainerd, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Brainerd (post 1700) +

John Grist Brainerd (1904-1988), American electrical engineer known for his pioneering work in mainframes building ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, recipient of the IEEE Founders Medal in 1975
Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd (1868-1942), American author who published at over ten novels for young women
Samuel Myron Brainerd (1842-1898), American politician, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania (1883-1885)
Lawrence Brainerd (1794-1870), American politician, U.S. Senator from Vermont (1854-1855), father of Ann Eliza Brainerd Smith, the American author
Ezra Brainerd (1844-1924), American academic, President of Middlebury College in Vermont (1885-1908)
David Brainerd (1718-1747), American missionary to the Native Americans
Calvin Brainerd Cady (1851-1928), American musician, music teacher, educational philosopher and writer, founder of the music department at the University of Michigan
Owen Brainerd Arnold (1818-1900), American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Meriden, 1861, 1874 8

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 5) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html