Breheny Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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The roots of the Breheny surname are linked to a set of 4,000 year old Irish law, known as the Brehon Law. There were no judges or lawyers, but the arbitrators whose responsibility it was to settle disagreements based on these laws were known as Brehons.

Breheny Early Origins

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The surname Breheny was first found in Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh), the former Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory), located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where they held a family seat as judges and scholars. Irish history was greatly influenced by the Norman invasion of 1172, and thereafter, the surnames of Irish Gaelic clanns and septs and many of the Norman families became almost indistinguishable. This ancient Irish family name was found later in Sligo represented another early reference to the name.

Breheny Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Brehon, Brehane, Brehany, Brehaney, Breheny, Brehony, MacBreheny and many more.

Breheny Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breheny research. Another 199 words (14 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Breheny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breheny Early Notables (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Breheny Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Breheny Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Breheny, who was naturalized in Westmoreland Co. Pennsylvania in 1859
Bridget Breheny, who arrived in New York, NY in 1866

Contemporary Notables of the name Breheny (post 1700)

Brian Breheny, movie cinematographer
Richard Breheny, Lecturer in the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College, London

Breheny Family Crest Products

Citations

Other References

Land Owners in Ireland. Genealogical Publishing. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1203-3).
Best, Hugh. Debrett's Texas Peerage. New York: Coward-McCann, 1983. Print. (ISBN 069811244X).
Bolton, Charles Knowles. Bolton's American Armory. Baltimore: Heraldic Book Company, 1964. Print.
MacLysaght, Edward. Mores Irish Familes. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0).
Fitzgerald, Thomas W. Ireland and Her People A Library of Irish Biography 5 Volumes. Chicago: Fitzgerald. Print.
Woulfe, Rev. Patrick. Irish Names and Surnames Collected and Edited with Explanatory and Historical Notes. Kansas City: Genealogical Foundation, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-940134-403).
Sullivan, Sir Edward. The Book of Kells 3rd Edition. New York: Crescent Books, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-517-61987-3).
Vicars, Sir Arthur. Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland 1536-1810. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Print.
Bullock, L.G. Historical Map of Ireland. Edinburgh: Bartholomew and Son, 1969. Print.
Hickey, D.J. and J.E. Doherty. A New Dictionary of Irish History form 1800 2nd Edition. Dublin: Gil & MacMillian, 2003. Print.
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The Breheny Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Breheny Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 13 March 2014 at 19:36.