Show ContentsBriche History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Briche is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Briche family lived in Norfolk. Historians disagree on which of three regions of Normandy the name is drawn from, Brix, Le Brus, or Briouze, but whatever the region the name is clearly from Normandy.

Early Origins of the Briche family

The surname Briche was first found in Suffolk at Little Wenham, a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Samford. "The church contains memorials to the family of Brewes. Here are the remains of an old castellated mansion, the seat of that ancient family, by whom it appears to have been erected in 1569; it has been converted into a granary." 1

Early History of the Briche family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Briche research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1500 is included under the topic Early Briche History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Briche Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Briche are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Briche include Brewes, Brews, Brewe, Brewse, Brewis, Brew, Brewas, Brewase, Brue, MacBrew and many more.

Early Notables of the Briche family

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

Briche Ranking

In France, the name Briche is the 2,302nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,802 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Briche family to Ireland

Some of the Briche family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Briche migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Briche, or a variant listed above:

Briche Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Ante Briche, aged 27, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1854 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Briche (post 1700) +

  • André Louis Elisabeth Marie Briche, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 4


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)
  4. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) André Briche. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html


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