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The ancient Norman culture that was established in England after the Conquest of 1066 produced the name of Browner. It was given to a person who has brown hair or brown eyes, or dresses habitually in brown. 1
The name springs from similar roots in Old English, Old English, Old Norse, Old French, Old German. It is also possible that a given instance of the name is derived from a short form of an Old English personal name such as Brunwine or Brungar.
The surname Browner was first found in Cumberland, where the Browner family held a family seat and claim descent from Le Brun in Normandy, who was granted many estates there soon after the Conquest. However, many of the family remained in Normandy where Gilbert and William le Brun were listed in 1185 according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 2
"This ancient and wide-spreading name, which occurs in early writings in a great variety of forms, as Le Brun, de Bron, Broun, Brune, Brunn, &c., stands 50th on the Battle Roll, and has the peculiar distinction of having produced twenty-one different families in the United Kingdom, who have received from the Sovereign hereditary titles of Nobility." 3
"As Le Brun or Brunnus, it frequently occurs in the Norman Exchequer Rolls of the twelfth century, and is several times written in Domesday Book. William le Brun held in Suffolk; and Bruno (perhaps the same) in Warwickshire: besides "Brun Presbyter" in Oxfordshire. 4
"Of these, the most considerable-that of the Viscounts Montague-was an offset of the great Norman house of La Ferte, who held the barony of La Ferte (now La Ferte Fresnel) near Evreux. Hugh de la Ferte is mentioned by Wace at Hastings. Richard de la Ferte accompanied Robert of Normandy to Palestine in 1096, and his youngest son, Gamel, surnamed Le Brun (according to family tradition to distinguish him from a brother called Le Blond), settled in Cumberland, where he had baronial grants from Waldeve FitzGospatric, and his descendants long flourished, the name gradually changing to Broyne, Broun, or Browne." 4
Some of the family were found at early times at Tacolneston in Norfolk where they held estates. "The Hall, a fine brick mansion, is a good specimen of the domestic style prevalent in the 17th century; it is said to have been built in 1670, by the Browne family, who then held the estate." 5
Another branch was found in the parish of Thrigby, again in Norfolk. "The principal part [of Thrigby] belongs to Thomas Browne, Esq., who resides at the Hall, a neat mansion of white brick." 5
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 eludes to the use of the name in a variety of early spelling and as a forename and surname: Brun Ednth, Salop; Matilda relicta Brun, Oxfordshire; and Brune relicta Johannis, Cambridgeshire; Hugh le Brun, Suffolk; Robert le Brun, Buckinghamshire; and Johanna la Brune, Oxfordshire. 6
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Browner research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1317, 1339, 1439, 1443, 1506, 1598, 1605, 1610, 1616, 1626, 1634, 1641, 1642, 1659, 1660, 1661, 1668, 1669, 1682, 1684, 1685, 1688, 1690, 1702, 1721, 1735 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Browner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Brown, Broun, Brun and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Anthony Browne (1443-1506), during the reign of King Henry VII, he was Standard Bearer of England, Governor of Queenborough Castle, and Constable of Calais; Sir Richard Browne, 1st Baronet (ca. 1610-1669), English Major-General in the English Parliamentary Army during the English Civil War and later Lord Mayor of London; Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682), an English author; Francis Browne, 3rd Viscount Montagu (1610-1682); Sir Richard Browne, 1st Baronet of Deptford (ca. 1605-1682), an English ambassador to the court of France at Paris from 1641 to 1660; Sir Richard Browne, 2nd Baronet (ca.1634-1684), English...
Another 116 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Browner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Browner is the 17,422nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 8
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Browner name or one of its variants:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: