Branthwaite History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Etymology of Branthwaite

What does the name Branthwaite mean?

The ancient Scottish name Branthwaite was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The original bearer of the name lived in any of the places so named in Cumberland or Yorkshire, bordering on Scotland. This place-name derived from the Old Norse words for a broad clearing. 1

Early Origins of the Branthwaite family

The surname Branthwaite was first found in Cumberland, at Braithwaite, a township, in the parish of Crosthwaite, Allerdale ward above Derwent. Braithwaite is also a hamlet, in the parish of KirkBramwith, union of Doncaster, Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 2

"Braithwaite is a characteristic north of England name, occurring in Westmorland, Cumberland, Yorkshire, and Lancashire. A Cumberland parish and West Riding hamlets are thus called. An ancient Westmorland family of Brathwaite or Braithwaite resided at Ambleside, near Kendal, in the 16th and 17th centuries, and afterwards at Warcop and Burneside. " 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one listing for the family, that being in Yorkshire: Geoffrey de Braytweyt. But by the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, there were more listings: Alicia Brathwayt; Willelmus de Brathwat; and Willelmus de Brathwayt. 4

Further to the north in Scotland, "the name is found in Edinburgh in the seventeenth century as Breathit and Breathwit." 5

Early History of the Branthwaite family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Branthwaite research. Another 205 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1588, 1633, 1660, 1673, 1684, 1711, 1744, 1746, 1750, 1791, 1820 and 1825 are included under the topic Early Branthwaite History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Branthwaite Spelling Variations

The many spelling variations in Medieval Scottish names result from the fact that scribes in that era spelled words according to sound. Translation too, was an undeveloped science, and many names were altered into complete obscurity. Over the years Branthwaite has been spelled Brathwaite, Brathwait, Braithwaite, Braithwait and many more.

Early Notables of the Branthwaite family

Richard Braithwaite or Brathwaite (1588-1673), an English poet best known for his 'Drunken Barnaby's Four Journeys.' He "belonged to a Westmorland family who variously spelt their name Brathwaite, Brathwait, Brathwayte, Braithwaite, Braythwait, and Braythwayte. The poet uses indifferently the first three of these forms. His great-grandfather, also Richard, the squire of Ambleside, had one son, Robert, who had two sons, Thomas and James, and five daughters. Thomas, the poet's father, was a barrister and recorder of Kendal...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Branthwaite Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Branthwaite migration to Australia +

Branthwaite Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

J.G.A. Branthwaite, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Anna Maria" in 1849 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Branthwaite (post 1700) +

William Branthwaite (d. 1620), English scholar and translato
Anna Branthwaite, British photojournalist

Sources +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ANNA MARIA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849AnnaMaria.htm