Branham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Many variations of the name Branham have evolved since the time of its initial creation. In Gaelic it appeared as "O Braondin," from the word "braon," which has several meanings, possibly meaning "sorrow" in this case.

Saint Brendan or Brenainn (490?-573), of Birr, "which was so called from the abundance of wells there (birr, birra, water), now Parsonstown, in the King's County. He was son of Neman, a poet, and Mansenna, and belonged to the race of Corb Aulam, great-grandson of Rudhraighe, from whom were the Clanna Rudhraighe. " 1

Another Saint Brendan or Brenainn (484-577), of Clonfert, was born in 484, at Littus li, or Stagnum li, now Tralee, co. Kerry. "He is termed son of Finnloga, to distinguish him from his contemporary, St. Brendan of Birr. " 1

Early Origins of the Branham family

The surname Branham 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 claim descent from Braonan, an Irish Prince, brother of Ceallach, 17th King of Ossory. Braonan later became the King of Ossory, and also King of the Danes of Dublin, and was known as the Prince of Idough. His son, Conglach, in a dispute over the throne of Ossory, was killed near Three Castles, County Kilkenny.

At this point in time, the Brennans were in conflict with Brian Boru (1014), and most historians believe that the family was on the wrong side as allies of the Danish King. After Clontarf, they retained only the principality of Idough, but Anne, daughter of Guidhelgedh, three generations later, married the King of Ossory (Donogh), and the title was still extant even after the Anglo Norman invasion of 1172.

Early History of the Branham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Branham research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1395, 1520, 1600, 1625, 1693, 1768, 1794, 1830 and 1832 are included under the topic Early Branham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Branham Spelling Variations

Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Branham were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Brennan, McBrennan, Brannon, Brannan, Brannen, Brannin, Brennyn, Brannyn, MacBrennan, Brenan, Branon, Branan, Branen and many more.

Early Notables of the Branham family

Notable among the family name at this time was Sir Art O'Brennan of Castlecomer Castle; Most Rev. John Brennan (1625-1693), Bishop of Waterford and Archbishop of Cashel; John Brennan (1768-1830)...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Branham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Branham Ranking

In the United States, the name Branham is the 2,404^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 2

Branham migration to the United States +

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Branham family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Branham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Branham, aged 30, who landed in Maryland in 1813 3
Linda Branham, aged 15, who arrived in America in 1893
Mary Branham, aged 56, who arrived in America in 1893
Patrick Branham, aged 30, who arrived in America from Sligo, Ireland in 1893
M. Branham, aged 24, who settled in America, in 1894

Branham Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

A. E. Branham, aged 29, who landed in America, in 1905
James Branham, aged 71, who landed in America, in 1907
Benjamin Branham, aged 49, who immigrated to the United States, in 1914
Ghilbert Branham, aged 21, who settled in America, in 1918
Charles H. Branham, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1922
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Branham (post 1700) +

Andy Branham (b. 1980), American Major League Baseball player
Charles W. "Trey" Branham III, American co-founder of Goldfarb Branham LLP, a law firm in Dallas, Texas
George Branham III (b. 1962), American professional ten-pin bowler
William Marrion Branham (1909-1965), American Christian minister, one of the founders of the faith healing movement
William G. Branham, American Democratic Party politician, Member of West Virginia Democratic State Executive Committee, 1945 4
William E. Branham, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Oklahoma, 1956 4
Richard Branham, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for supervisor of Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, 1970 4
Patricia Branham, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Tennessee, 2008 4
James W. Branham, American politician, Member of Mississippi territorial House of Representatives, 1807 4
Finis Branham, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Wayne County 4th District, 1961 4
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html