Breynton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Breynton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Brenton, near Exminster in Devon. The name is likely a habitation name from the Old English Brymingtun, meaning "settlement associated with Bryni." 1

Early Origins of the Breynton family

The surname Breynton was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Breynton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breynton research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1610, 1633 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Breynton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breynton Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Breynton family name include Brenton, Breynton, Brentyne and others.

Early Notables of the Breynton family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir John Breynton

Breynton migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Breynton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Breynton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Breynton, who landed in Maryland in 1670 2

Breynton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Breynton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Breynton, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1752

Contemporary Notables of the name Breynton (post 1700) +

John Breynton (1719-1799), renowned Canadian minister in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
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)