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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The name Breakspear comes from a name for a person who is victor in a tournament or battle.
The surname Breakspear was first found in Hertfordshire at Breakspear College in Abbots Langley, Three Rivers, Hertfordshire which is now a Grade II Listed Building and thought to have originally been built c. 1770 as a rebuilding of an earlier house. The present name commemorates Nicholas Breakspear (c. 1100-1159), born in Abbots Langley, who, as Pope Adrian IV, became the only English Pope in 1154. (British Listed Buildings)
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) in his novel Manalive mentions the Warden of Brakespeare (Brikespeare) College, Cambridge University, but this is a fictional reference.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breakspear research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Breakspear History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Breakspear include Brakespear, Breakspear, Brakespeare, Breakspeare and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include:
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Breakspear or a variant listed above: Jane Breakspeare who settled in New England in 1773.