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Brittain History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Brittain Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The surname Brittain comes from the geographical place name Brittany, the region in France, and not from Great Britain.

Early Origins of the Brittain family

The surname Brittain was first found in County Kildare and County Meath, where the name was established in the 13th century. It is often preceded by "le," as in "le Breton," in the Judiciary Rolls and Ormond Deeds of Ireland. This is an important distinction over the English versions of the same surname. In England, the name was derived from de Bretagne.

"This name, which is to be found in most parts of Ireland, though nowhere very numerous; in Dublin it is sometimes spelt Brittain. Its origin is geographical but it is derived from Britany in France not from Great Britain. It occurs quite frequently in our mediaeval records such as the Justiciary Rolls and Ormond Deeds, with the prefix le-le Breton etc.-not de, though in England similar records have also de Bretagne. Though widely distributed it was first, in the thirteenth century, established in Co. Kildare and Co. Meath but by the seventeenth century Co. Tipperary was its main location, though fairly well established in Co. Wexford also. Thus it is listed in the 'census' of 1659 as a principal Irish name in the barony of Middlethird in that county and the Co. Tipperary hearth money rolls of the next decade include no less than 32 householders of the name." 1

"The 'census' of 1659 also contains, as a principal Irish name, MacBritany, in the barony of Glencarne, Co. Antrim. It is possible that some families so called did later abbreviate this to Britain, but as a rule MacBritany can be taken as an earlier anglicized form of Mac Breathnaigh (i.e. son of the Welshman, and so akin to Brannagh and Walsh) now usually MacBratney and still located in northeast Ulster." 1

Early History of the Brittain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brittain research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1567, 1659 and 1660 are included under the topic Early Brittain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brittain Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Britton, Breton, Brittain, Brittan and others.

Early Notables of the Brittain family

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

Brittain Ranking

In the United States, the name Brittain is the 4,056^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2

Brittain migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brittain Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Brittain, who landed in Maryland in 1661 3
Sarah Brittain, who landed in Maryland in 1663 3
Lionel Brittain, who arrived in New Jersey in 1680 3
Lyonel Brittain, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1680 3
Lionel Brittain, his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Elizabeth, who settled in New Jersey in 1680

Brittain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles Brittain, who settled in Virginia in 1720
Ann Brittain, a bonded immigrant who settled in Virginia in 1726

Brittain Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Benjamin Brittain, who arrived at the port of Philadelphia in 1800
Mr Brittain, aged 30, who arrived in America in 1822 3
Joseph Brittain, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1828 3
Richard Brittain, aged 26, who arrived in Missouri in 1844 3
C W Brittain, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brittain migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brittain Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Lt. James Brittain U.E. born in New Jersey, USA who settled in Greenwich, Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1783 he served as part of the New Jersey Volunteers 4

Brittain migration to Australia +

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

Brittain Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Stephen Brittain, English convict from Bedford, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on July 29th, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
Mr. John Brittain, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 12 years, transported aboard the "Candahar" on 26th March 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. John Brittain, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emerald Isle" on 25th June 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. Matthew Brittain, English convict who was convicted in Clerkenwell, London, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 12th December 1849, arriving in Norfolk Island and Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
William Brittain, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "British Empire" 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brittain 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:

Brittain Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Brittain, aged 20, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Martha Ridgeway" in 1840
Mr. William Brittain, (b. 1820), aged 20, British settler travelling from England aboard the ship "Martha Ridgway" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 14th November 1840 10
Charles Brittain, aged 28, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 10
Susan Brittain, aged 26, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 10
George T. Brittain, aged 23, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Strathnaver" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Brittain (post 1700) +

Paul Brittain (b. 1977), American actor and comedian, cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2010-2012
Marion Luther Brittain (1865-1953), American academic administrator, President of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1922 to 1944
Bill Brittain (b. 1930), American author
W. F. Brittain, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Wyoming, 1896 11
Todd Brittain, American politician, Supervisor of Leoni Township, Michigan, 2009 11
Joseph I. Brittain (1858-1930), American Republican politician, Member of Ohio State House of Representatives, 1892-95; U.S. Consul General in Coburg, 1913-14; Auckland, 1914-15; Sydney, 1915-19; Winnipeg, 1919-24 11
John E. Brittain, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1908 11
Benjamin S. Brittain, American politician, Member of North Carolina State Senate from Macon County, 1832-35 11
A. R. Brittain, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1904 11
John V. "Johnny" Brittain (d. 2019), English motorcycle trials and enduro rider
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 151 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1823
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/candahar
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emily
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BRITISH EMPIRE 1850. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850BritishEmpire.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html