Brookbank History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Brookbank name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in Yorkshire, where the name is derived from two places with the name Brooksbank in the West Riding. These place names are derived from Old English: brokes, the genitive of broke, which means "brook, stream"; and bank, as in riverbank. 1 2
Early Origins of the Brookbank family
The surname Brookbank was first found in Yorkshire where one of the first listings of the name was Thomas Brokesbank, who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 3
Early History of the Brookbank family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brookbank research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1612, 1694, 1741, 1743, 1756 and 1802 are included under the topic Early Brookbank History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Brookbank Spelling Variations
Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Brookbank has undergone many spelling variations, including Brookbank, Brocksbank, Brookebank, Brooksbank and many more.
Early Notables of the Brookbank family
Notables of the family at this time include
- Joseph Brookbank, Brooksbank, or Brookesbank (born 1612), English minister and schoolmaster from Halifax, West Yorkshire
Brookbank migration to the United States +
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Brookbank were among those contributors:
Brookbank Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Abraham Brookbank, who arrived in Maryland in 1678-1679 4
- Peter Brookbank, who landed in Virginia in 1696 4
Brookbank migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Brookbank Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Catherine Brookbank, aged 18, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "James Fernie" 5
Contemporary Notables of the name Brookbank (post 1700) +
- Sheldon Brookbank (b. 1980), Canadian professional NHL ice hockey defenceman who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks
- Wade Brookbank (b. 1977), Canadian professional AHL ice hockey player
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- 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)
- South Australian Register Friday 17th November 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) James Fernie 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/jamesfernie1854.shtml