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| Origins Available: |
| | Ireland |
The Irish name O'Bruan has evolved from the Gaelic Mac Braoin or Ó Braoin.
The surname O'Bruan was first found in County Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh), the former Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory), located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where the family is descended through the Heremon line and claim to be direct descendants of King Niall of the Nine Hostages.
They were known as the Lords of Brawney 1 and were an Ossory sept (Clann) seated near Knocktopher, Kilkenny, until they had to forfeit their lands by the Anglo Norman invasion of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke in 1172. They were subsequently dispersed throughout Ireland.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Bruan research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1303, 1324, 1560 and 1625 are included under the topic Early O'Bruan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many spelling variations of the surname O'Bruan can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include Breen, Breene, Brean, Breane, Bruen, Brawney, O'Breen, O'Braoin and many more.
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Bruan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A great mass of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century, seeking relief from various forms of social, religious, and economic discrimination. This Irish exodus was primarily to North America. If the migrants survived the long ocean journey, many unfortunately would find more discrimination in the colonies of British North America and the fledgling United States of America. These newly arrived Irish were, however, wanted as a cheap source of labor for the many large agricultural and industrial projects that were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the western world. Early immigration and passenger lists indicate many people bearing the O'Bruan name: Francis Breen, who was on record in Delaware in 1812; John Breene who settled in New York in 1803; Alice Breen, who sailed from Londonderry to Philadelphia in 1847.