Briand History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland-Alt
Ireland

The old Gaelic name used by the Briand family in Ireland was Ó Briain, which means descendant of Brian.

Early Origins of the Briand family

The surname Briand was first found in Thomond, a territory comprised of most of County Clare with adjacent parts of counties Limerick and Tipperary. Prior to the 10th century, the sept was a Dalcassian Clan known as the Ui Toirdealbhaigh and achieved prominence with the rise of their eponymous ancestor, Brian Boru (941-1014), to the High Kingship of Ireland. Brian Boru, by far the most outstanding figure of this family, is widely acknowledged as the greatest of all the ancient Kings of Ireland and is best remembered for driving the Norsemen out of Ireland at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.

Early History of the Briand family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Briand research. Another 187 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1369, 1400, 1551, 1577, 1600, 1614, 1640, 1642, 1651, 1663, 1674, 1678, 1690, 1692, 1699, 1714, 1717 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Briand History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Briand Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, scribes recorded people's names as they saw fit. As a result, surnames often had many spelling variations. For Briand some of these variations included: O'Brien, OBrine, O'Brion, O'Bryan, O'Bryen, McBrien, McBrine, Brian, Briand, Briant, Brine, Brines, Briens and many more.

Early Notables of the Briand family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Brian Sreamhach MacMathghamhna O'Brien, king of the Irish region of Thomond (1369-1400); Daniel O'Brien (1577-1663), member of the Supreme Council of Catholic Confederates; Daniel O'Brien (d. 1690), founder of the Irish Brigade known as Clare's Dragoons; Murrough McDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin and 6th Baron Inchiquin (1614-1674); Henry O'Brien, Lord Ibrackan or Lord...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Briand Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Briand Ranking

In Quebec, Canada, the name Briand is the 767^th most popular surname. 1 However, in France, the name Briand is ranked the 243^rd most popular surname with an estimated 14,990 people with that name. 2

Briand migration to the United States +

Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Briand or one of its variants:

Briand Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anne Angelique Briand, aged 42, who landed in New Orleans La in 1785 3

Briand migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Briand Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Laurent (1739) and Thomas (1754) Briand, who settled in Quebec from Brittany

Contemporary Notables of the name Briand (post 1700) +

Maurice Briand (1949-2022), French lawyer and politician of the Socialist Party, Deputy of the French National Assembly for Côtes-d'Armor's 4th constituency (1988-1993)
Jimmy Briand (b. 1985), French footballer
Ludwig Briand (b. 1981), French actor
Anne Briand (b. 1968), French biathlete, winner of a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics
Aristide Briand (1862-1932), French Politician, prime minister of France, who shared the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize

The Briand Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Lamh laidir an Uachtar
Motto Translation: The strong hand from above.

Citations +

"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)