Contents [hide]

Brice History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Brice History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland

The French name Brice originated in the northern coastal region of France known as Normandy. The name Normandy was derived from the settlement and conquest of the territory by ("Northmen") better known as Vikings.

Early Origins of the Brice family

The surname Brice was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family first originated, maintaining their status as one of the more distinguished families of the region.

Robert de Brix, companion to Duke Guillaume, was first registered in the region in 1066. The family later received its title of nobility in 1666. The family continued to prosper and was later cited in Fontenay le Comte in the sub-prefecture of Vendée. Nicolas Brisson was recorded in the region in 1431. Other noteworthy family members include a commander of Rivière (in the region of Touraine) in 1404 and Barnabé Brisson, thought to be the most scholarly of men by King Henry III, he was president of parliament in Paris. 1

Early History of the Brice family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brice research. Another 52 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1467, 1531, 1591, 1666, 1810 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Brice History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brice Spelling Variations

History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Brice, some of which include Brisson, Brison, Brès, Bris, Brix, de Brix, Bresset, Bresson, Bressot, Brice, Brisse, Brisset, Brissonot, Brissonneau, Brissonet, Brissonnet, Brissot, Brissaud and many more.

Early Notables of the Brice family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Charles Brice, Knight of the Empire and major, ennobled in 1810

Brice Ranking

In the United States, the name Brice is the 3,268^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Brice is ranked the 2,358^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people with that name. 3

Brice migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Brice. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Brice were

Brice Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Francis Brice, who arrived in Virginia in 1643 4
Martha Brice, who landed in Virginia in 1648 4
Robert Brice, who landed in Virginia in 1648 4
Elizabeth Brice, who landed in Maryland in 1668 4
William Brice, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brice Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Brice, who settled in North Carolina in 1701
Ann Brice, who arrived in North Carolina in 1702 4
William Brice, who landed in North Carolina in 1702 4
Writ Brice, who arrived in North Carolina in 1702 4
James Brice, who settled in New Hampshire in 1718

Brice Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Archibald Brice, aged 27, who arrived in New York in 1812 4
David Brice, aged 32, who landed in New York in 1812 4
James E Brice, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 4
Nicholas J Brice, aged 52, who landed in Missouri in 1848 4
A J Brice, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brice migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brice Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mary Brice, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
William Brice, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Brice Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Brice, who landed in Canada in 1815

Brice migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Brice Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Brice, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Henry Brice who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
E.M. Brice, who arrived in Port Misery aboard the ship "Duchess of Northumberland" in 1839 7
Amry Ann Brice, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Himalaya" in 1849 8
Johanna Brice, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Himalaya" in 1849 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brice migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Brice Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Mary W Brice, British settler travelling from London via Cobh aboard the ship "Sir George Pollock" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th September 1859 9
W. Brice, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 8th December 1863 9
Mrs. Sarah Brice, (b. 1823), aged 50, Cornish settler departing on 14th January 1873 aboard the ship "Parsee" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th May 1873, she was widowed and travelling with Nathanial Rowe 10
Sarah Brice, aged 50, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Parsee" in 1873
Mr. William Brice, (b. 1849), aged 30, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Stad Haarlem" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in 1879 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brice migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Brice Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Brice, who settled in Barbados in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Brice (post 1700) +

William Oscar Brice CBE (1898-1972), United States Marine Corps General, recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star
Carol Brice (1918-1985), American contralto
John Brice III (1738-1820), American lawyer, businessman and political leader
John Brice Jr. (1705-1766), early American settler and Loyalist politician, member of the Governor's Council, twice Mayor of Annapolis
William Brice (1921-2008), American artist known for his large-scale abstract paintings
Calvin Stewart Brice (1845-1898), Democratic politician from Ohio
Fannie Brice (1891-1951), American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress
Louis-Adrien Brice De Montigny, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 12
William Charles Brice (1921-2007), British ethnographer and linguist
Christopher Trevor Brice (b. 1983), English cricketer
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Brice family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Walter Thomas Brice (1869-1928), aged 42, English Able Seaman from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping on life boat 11 13

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) THE DUCHESS OF NORTHUMBERLAND - 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839DuchessOfNorthumberland.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The HIMALAYA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Himalaya.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Auckland 1872-80 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Louis-Adrien Brice. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html