Bruening History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsBruening is an ancient name dating from the times of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was a person with brown hair or a dark complexion. The surname Bruening is derived from the Old English word bruning, which was in common usage until the 14th century. 1 This word is itself a derivative of the word brun, which means brown. The name was in usage as a personal name as early as 1086, when Bruning de Cestretona was recorded as a holding lands in Cambridgeshire. 2 Early Origins of the Bruening familyThe surname Bruening was first found in Cambridgeshire but by the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name had scattered throughout most of ancient Britain. By example, that rolls listed Henry Brunwyne, Staffordshire; John Brunwyn, Suffolk; Richard Brunwyn, Lincolnshire; Avice Bruning, Cambridgeshire; John Bruning, Norfolk; Roger Bruning, London; and Ivo Brunig, Huntingdonshire. 3 Kirby's Quest listed the name as a forename and a surname: Brounyng le Fox, Somerset, 1 Edward I; and Brounyng Bycheheye, Somerset, 1 Edward I (during the first year of King Edward I's reign.) 4 "Browning is an old and often distinguished county name: there was an ancient family of this name at Cowley, [in Oxfordshire] where they long resided." 5 As time moved on, spellings changed. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Agnes Brownyng, a spelling closer to the spellings used today. 3 A little further to the north in Scotland, early records there included John Brwnyng, as one of the "burgenses rure manentes" of Aberdeen, 1317, and "Sir John Browning was sheriff there in 1328. Willelmus Bronnyng in the parish of Fyvy was excommunicated in 1382. " 6 Early History of the Bruening familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bruening research. Another 199 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1291, 1328, 1382, 1580, 1584, 1634, 1639, 1647, 1658, 1664, 1667 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Bruening History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bruening Spelling VariationsUntil the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Bruening include Browning, Brownyng, Bruning, Brownigg, Brownygg and many more. Early Notables of the Bruening familyNotables of the family at this time include John Browning (fl. 1584), English divine, matriculated as a sizar at Trinity College, Cambridge, on 14 Nov. 1658. On 8 July 1580 Browning was created D.D. at Oxford.
Another John Browning was... Bruening RankingIn the United States, the name Bruening is the 15,566th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Bruening were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Bruening Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
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