Contents [hide]

Bruton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Bruton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The illustrious surname Bruton is classified as a habitation surname, which was originally derived from a place-name, and is one form of surname belonging to a broader group called hereditary surnames. Habitation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Topographic names, form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.

Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Bruton is a place-name from in Breton. Bruton is a southern English corruption of the name Breton, which denoted a person who came from Brittany, in France. This type of name is called a local surname, which comes from the broad category of hereditary surnames. Local names were usually adopted from the name of the place where an ancestor had once lived. The name came to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066; Alain de Breton was a noble who accompanied Duke William on his successful conquest of England. His sons, Roger and Thomas le Breton, were granted lordships in Somerset. Their name has become a permanent part of the county of Somerset; the village of Bruton derives its name from this family. The place-name Bruton further served as a source for the surnames of some of the people who lived there. In this way did occupants of a small town in southern England become named after a province of France.

Early Origins of the Bruton family

The surname Bruton was first found in Somerset and Devon where, in the latter county Auvrai le Breton held twenty two lordships granted to him by William the Conqueror for his service at Hastings in 1066 A.D. Roger and Thomas le Breton, his successors, were granted lordships in Somerset. Bruton was listed in the Domesday Book as Briwetone, 1 and literally meant "farmstead on the River Brue," the latter Celtic word meant "brisk." Combined it meant, "farmstead on the brisk running river." 2 The Hundred of Bruton is one of the 40 hundreds in Somerset and was a relatively small hundred, covering approximately 14,250 acres.

Early History of the Bruton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bruton research. Another 225 words (16 lines of text) covering the year 1066 is included under the topic Early Bruton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bruton Spelling Variations

Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Bruton, Breton, Brutyn, Brutten, Brutone, Brewton, Brutown, Brewtowne, Bretown and many more.

Early Notables of the Bruton family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was

Sir John Bruton

Bruton Ranking

In the United States, the name Bruton is the 4,136^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Bruton family to Ireland

Some of the Bruton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bruton migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Bruton, or a variant listed above:

Bruton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jon Bruton, who landed in Virginia in 1635 4
Edward Bruton, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 4
Sarah Bruton, who landed in Maryland in 1662 4
Fra Bruton, who landed in Virginia in 1663 4
John Bruton, who settled in Virginia in 1663
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bruton migration to Australia +

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

Bruton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Charles Bruton, aged 32, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 5
Ellen Bruton, aged 32, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 5
James Bruton, aged 12, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 5
George Bruton, aged 10, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 5
William Bruton, aged 7, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bruton 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:

Bruton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Ruth Bruton, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Victory " arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 17th October 1863 6
William Bruton a baker, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sir George Grey" in 1864
Mr. James Bruton, (b. 1839), aged 35, Irish labourer from County Tipperary travelling from London aboard the ship "Tweed" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1874 6
Mrs. Ellen Bruton, (b. 1841), aged 33, Irish settler from County Tipperary travelling from London aboard the ship "Tweed" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1874 6
Mr. John Bruton, (b. 1863), aged 11, Irish settler from County Tipperary travelling from London aboard the ship "Tweed" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1874 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bruton migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7

Bruton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. William Bruton, (b. 1612), aged 22, British settler travelling from London, UK arriving in St Christopher (St. Kitts) on 5th January 1634 8
William Bruton, his wife Mary, and his son Robert who settled in Barbados in 1635

Contemporary Notables of the name Bruton (post 1700) +

John Gerard Bruton (b. 1947), Irish politician, Finance Minister (1981-1982) and Prime Minister of Ireland (1994-1997)
Ogden Carr Bruton (1908-2003), American pediatrician and Chief of Pediatrics at Walter Reed Army Hospital, discoverer of "Bruton-type agammaglobulinemia"
Brigadier-General Philip Gilstrap Bruton (1891-1960), American Director of Labor War Food Administration (1943-1945) 9
David Lee Bruton Jr. (b. 1987), American NFL football safety for the Denver Broncos
Kris Marcus Bruton (b. 1971), American professional basketball player
David "Dave" Bruton (b. 1952), English former professional footballer
Leslie Hector Ronald "Les" Bruton (1903-1989), English footballer
John Gerard Bruton (1947-2024), Irish Fine Gael politician, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009
Ms. Annette Bruton O.B.E., Scottish former Principal for Edinburgh College, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to Education 10
Edward George Bruton (d. 1861), British Gothic Revival architect

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) "PRINCE REGENT" 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849PrinceRegent.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, November 3) Philip Bruton. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bruton/Philip_Gilstrap/USA.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists