Brutown History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe illustrious surname Brutown 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. Early Origins of the Brutown familyThe surname Brutown 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 Brutown familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brutown research. Another 225 words (16 lines of text) covering the year 1066 is included under the topic Early Brutown History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Brutown Spelling VariationsSince 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 Brutown familyMore information is included under the topic Early Brutown Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Brutown family to IrelandSome of the Brutown 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. Migration of the Brutown familySome of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Brutown, or a variant listed above: William Bruton, his wife Mary, and his son Robert who settled in Barbados in 1635; John Bruton settled in Virginia in 1663; John Brutin arrived in Pennsylvania in 1866.
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