Brimley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Brimley is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Brimley family once lived in or near the settlement of Brindle in Lancashire.

Early Origins of the Brimley family

The surname Brimley was first found in Lancashire at Brindle, a small village and civil parish of the borough of Chorley that dates back to at least 1206 when it was first listed as Burnhill. The place name probably means "hill by a stream," from the Old English words "burna" + "hyll." 1 "This place appears to have been granted, by the superior tenant of the crown, soon after the Conquest, to a family who were designated from their possessions. The manor passed by the marriage of the heiress of 'Sir Peter de Bryn, of Brynhill,' to the Gerards, with whom it continued till the reign of Henry VIII." 2

Early History of the Brimley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brimley research. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brimley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brimley Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Brimley family name include Brindley, Brinley, Brindely and others.

Early Notables of the Brimley family

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

Brimley migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Brimley surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Brimley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ann Brimley, aged 46, who arrived in New York in 1868 3
Elizabeth Brimley, aged 4, who landed in New York in 1868 3
Ellen Brimley, aged 11, who arrived in New York in 1868 3
Jane Brimley, aged 17, who landed in New York in 1868 3
John Brimley, aged 22, who arrived in New York in 1868 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Brimley (post 1700) +

Anthony Wilford Brimley (1934-2020), American film and television actor, best known for his roles in "Cocoon", "Our House", "The Natural", “Brubaker”, “The Electric Horseman” and many more
Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946), American zoologist, brother of C.S. Brimley
Clement Samuel Brimley (1863-1946), American zoologist
George Brimley (1819-1857), English essayist, born at Cambridge on 29 Dec. 1819 4

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019