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Brander History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Brander History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Scotland

The name Brander has a rich and ancient history. It is an Anglo-Saxon name that was originally derived from the common Old English personal name, Brand, or the Old Norse name, Brandr. The word brand comes from the Germanic word brand, which means sword. This surname was found in Lincolnshire, where the family can trace its origin to shortly after the Norman Conquest. "As a personal name it occurs in the genealogy of the Northumbrian kings from Woden. It was a very common old Scandinavian name, and it is still used in Iceland. " 1

"The name Brand in England is usually taken to be of Norse origin, but it may be noted that as early as 1046 we find Bransbury, Hants, as Brandesburh, while Branston, Staffs, is Brantestun, in a charter (Birch, Cart. Saxonicum, 978) dated 956." 2

Another source noted that "Walter Brandus held lands by knight service in the Viscounty of Caen 1165 and William Brant had estates Norfolk 1086. (Domesday Book)" 3 4

Early Origins of the Brander family

The surname Brander was first found in Lincolnshire where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: William Brand, or Brant; and Walter Brand, or Brant. The same rolls also listed John Brand, Oxfordshire; Robert Brand, Oxfordshire; and Wymer Brant, Norfolk. 5

Further to the north in Scotland, early records there revealed "Giliane Brand held land in Irvine, 1323. Thomas Brand was burgess of Edinburgh in 1512, and the name was common there in the seventeenth century." 2

Early History of the Brander family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brander research. Another 253 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1100, 1150, 1506, 1591, 1605, 1626, 1631, 1635, 1660, 1662, 1663, 1668, 1674, 1685, 1691, 1700 and 1738 are included under the topic Early Brander History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brander Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Brander include Brand, Brande, Brands, Brander, Brant, Branter and others.

Early Notables of the Brander family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Joseph Brand (1605-1674), an English merchant, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660 and Sheriff of Suffolk from 1662 to 1663; and Thomas Brand (1635-1691), an English nonconformist minister and divine.John Brand (1668?-1738)...
Another 46 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brander Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brander migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Brander Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Appellonia Brander, aged 42, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
Barbara Brander, aged 8, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
Charlotte Brander, aged 1, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
Gasper Brander, aged 44, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
Charlotte Brander, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1733
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brander Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andw. Brander, who settled in New York in 1803
Andw Brander, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 6
James Brander, aged 20, who arrived in South Carolina in 1812 6
Hector Brander, aged 22, who landed in Virginia in 1813 6
Joseph Brander, aged 26, who landed in Missouri in 1841 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brander migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brander Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Elizabeth Brander, who settled in Canada in 1832

Brander migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7

Brander Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Adam Brander, who settled in Jamaica in 1774

Contemporary Notables of the name Brander (post 1700) +

Nathaniel Brander (b. 1796), American-born, Liberian politician and jurist, the first Vice President of Liberia (1848-1850)
Gustavus Brander (1720-1787), English naturalist and director of the Bank of England 8
Edward Richard Spieker Brander (1845-1883), English cricketer
James Alan "Jim" Brander (b. 1953), Canadian economist and a professor at University of British Columbia
James Brander Matthews (1852-1929), American writer

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019