Show ContentsBrendel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Brendel Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Brendel

What does the name Brendel mean?

It wasn’t until the 10th and 11th centuries that Jewish surnames began for the Jews living in North Africa, Spain, France, and Italy. 1

With the pressure to have a fixed surname, Jews sought out interesting ways to name themselves. Some gathered at the synagogue and the rabbi opened a prayer book, the first word on a page was then offered to a family, and so on. Some took names from popular characters in literature. While others created matronymic and patronymic names with suffixes like -sohn, -ov, -kin, etc to denote “descendant of”. 2

In some cases, the name Brendel has been derived from the personal name Brando, and is patronymic. Sometimes this surname comes from the Middle High German "Brant," a topographic name used for someone who lived in an area cleared by fire. Lastly, the name was also occupational, derived from the German word "brandler," or distiller.

Early Origins of the Brendel family

The surname Brendel was first found in Bavaria, which became a fertile source of many succeeding branches of the family name. They were later found in Westphalia and Saxony, where they possessed lands at Haardorff and Stackelberg. The family name was later distinguished when it was elevated to the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1778.

Brendel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Brandt, Brandte, Brandtes, Brandtte, Brant, Brante, Brandes, Brandis, Brand, Brande, Brandde, Brannde, Brend, Brende, Brendel, Brendde, Brennde and many more.

Brendel Ranking

the United States, the name Brendel is the 17,428th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Brendel is ranked the 9,556th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 4

Brendel migration to the United States +



Brendel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Caspar Brendel, who arrived in New York, NY in 1710-1714 5
  • Johann Heinrich Brendel, who landed in Philadelphia in 1738
  • Hans Georg Brendel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 5
  • Geo Brendel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 5
  • George Brendel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Brendel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Leop Brendel, aged 17, who landed in New York in 1854 5
  • Andreas Brendel, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1882 5

Brendel migration to Canada +

Brendel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Franz Brendel, who settled in Canada in 1783 with the United Empire Loyalists

Contemporary Notables of the name Brendel (post 1700) +

  • Neal R. Brendel (1954-2021), American rugby union player and lawyer; he played at the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup and was presented with the Craig Sweeney Award for his service and contributions to the game and the Union
  • El Brendel (1890-1964), American entertainer
  • Harry L. Brendel, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Anderson, Indiana, 1934-38 6
  • Forest I. Brendel, American politician, Supervisor of White Lake Township, Michigan, 1935-55 7
  • Alfred Brendel (1931-2025), Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer noted for his performances of Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven.
  • Joachim Brendel, German fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe, during World War II, credited with 189 aerial victories, awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  • Wolfgang Brendel (b. 1947), German opera singer
  • Joachim Brendel (1921-1974), German Luftwaffe pilot recipient of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Otto Brendel (1901-1973), scholar of Etruscan art
  1. Weiss, Nelly. The Origin of Jewish family names: Morphology and History. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
  2. Kaganoff, Benzion C. A Dictionary of Jewish names and their history. Schocken Books, 1977. Digital
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. 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)
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

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