Contents [hide]

Brosnan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Brosnan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland
England

The ancient Brosnan surname is derived from the Irish Gaelic "ó Brosnacháin," which may be derived from the place name Brosna in Kerry. 1

Early Origins of the Brosnan family

The surname Brosnan was first found in Kerry (Irish: Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province, where they held a family seat as Chiefs and kin to both the Dunns and the Dempseys. Irish history, after the Norman Conquest of England, was strongly influenced by the invasion of Strongbow in 1172, almost equal to the enormous Irish cultural impact on England Scotland, Wales and the whole of Europe before the Norman Conquest from the 1st to 7th centuries. Many Irish clanns, sept names were intermixed and family groupings became almost indistinguishable.

Early History of the Brosnan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brosnan research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brosnan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brosnan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Brosnan, Brosnahan, O'Brosnan, Brosnochain, Bresnahan, Bresnan, Brosna, Brosnihan and many more.

Early Notables of the Brosnan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

the Brosnan family of Kerry

Brosnan Ranking

In the United States, the name Brosnan is the 16,236^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Brosnan migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brosnan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Daniel Brosnan, who arrived at Philadelphia in 1828
Alice Brosnan, who was on record in Connecticut in 1858
Con Brosnan, aged 5, who settled in America from Newcastlewood, in 1896

Brosnan Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Bernard Brosnan, aged 14, who immigrated to the United States from Lisoyden, Co. Kerry, Ireland, in 1906
Bridget Brosnan, aged 29, who immigrated to America from Castlersland, Ireland, in 1907
Benjamin Brosnan, aged 20, who settled in America from Scartaglen, Ireland, in 1907
Catherine Brosnan, aged 23, who landed in America from Crosshaven, Ireland, in 1907
Catherine Brosnan, aged 26, who landed in America from Tralee, Ireland, in 1912
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brosnan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brosnan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Bridget Brosnan, aged 6 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sir Robert Peel" departing 26th July 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 19th June 1847 but she died on board 3
Miss. Jane Brosnan, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sir Robert Peel" departing 26th July 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 19th June 1847 but she died on board 3
Mr. Thomas Brosnan, aged 9 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Saguenay" departing 5th June 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 22nd August 1847 but he died on board 3
Mr. Timothy Brosnan, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sir Robert Peel" departing 26th July 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 19th September 1847 but he died on board 3

Brosnan 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:

Brosnan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Catherine Brosnan, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Portland" in 1864
Thomas Brosnan, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Edwin Fox" in 1875
Ellen Brosnan, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Edwin Fox" in 1875
Denis Brosnan, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Blairgowrie" in 1875
Mr. Cornelius Brosnan, (b. 1845), aged 30, Irish labourer from County Kerry travelling from London aboard the ship "Waimate" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th December 1875 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Brosnan (post 1700) +

Patrick Brosnan (b. 1968), American mathematician, the 2009 recipient of the Coxeter-James Prize
Timothy Brosnan (b. 1960), American playwright
James Patrick "Jim" Brosnan (b. 1929), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1954 through 1963
Timothy W. Brosnan, American politician, Member of Montana State Senate 16th District, 1895-96 5
C. M. Brosnan (b. 1815), American politician, Delegate to Nevada State Constitutional Convention, 1863 5
Eoin Brosnan, Irish Gaelic football player
Seán Brosnan (1916-1979), Irish barrister and Fianna Fáil politician from County Cork
Pierce Brendan Brosnan OBE (b. 1953), Irish Saturn Award winning, two-time Golden Globe nominated film actor best known for portraying James Bond in four films
Gerald Brosnan (b. 1877), Australian rules footballer
John Raymond Brosnan (1947-2005), Australian writer

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 66)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html