Brayne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Brayne is a name that was carried to England in the great wave of migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Brayne 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 Brayne family

The surname Brayne 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 Brayne family

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

Brayne Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Brayne were recorded, including Brain, Braine, Brayne, Brane, Brayn and others.

Early Notables of the Brayne family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Brayne of Long Compton, in Gloucestershire

Brayne migration to the United States +

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Brayne arrived in North America very early:

Brayne Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Brayne, who settled in New England in 1663
Robert Brayne, who landed in New England in 1668 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Brayne (post 1700) +

Prof. Carol Elspeth Goodeye Brayne C.B.E., British Professor of Public Health Medicine for the Department of Public Health and Primary Care for Cambridge Institute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 17th June 2017, for services to Public Health Medicine

Historic Events for the Brayne family +

HMS Dorsetshire

John Goble Brayne, British Midshipman aboard the HMS Dorsetshire (1945) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 7

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)
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)
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html