Bronte Surname History

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland
England

Etymology of Bronte

What does the name Bronte mean?

The Bronte surname is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó Proinntigh, meaning "descendant of Proinnteach," a personal name deriving from "proinn," meaning "banquet," and "teach," meaning "house," or "hall;" and which denoted a generous person.

Early Origins of the Bronte family

The surname Bronte was first found in County Monaghan (Irish: Muineachán) located in the Northern part of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Ulster, where the name O'Prounty was found in the barony of Cremorne, in the Hearth Money Rolls.

The famous Brontë literary family came from the village of Thornton in West Yorkshire, England, but their father Patrick Brontë (1777-1861) was born in Loughbrickland, County Down, Ireland. His birth name was Patrick Prunty or Brunty and was one of the ten children of Hugh Prunty or Brontë. He changed his paternal name to Brontë shortly before leaving Ireland. 1

Early History of the Bronte family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bronte research. Another 37 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1777 and 1861 are included under the topic Early Bronte History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bronte Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Prunty, O' Prunty, Pruntoch, O' Prounty, O' Prontye and many more.

Early Notables of the Bronte family

Patrick Brontë (1777-1861), father of the Bronte novelists...

Migration of the Bronte family to Ireland

Some of the Bronte family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bronte family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Peter Prunty who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856; and Patrick Prunty, who settled in New York, NY in 1834.

Contemporary Notables of the name Bronte (post 1700) +

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), English novelist
Bronte Campbell OAM (b. 1994), Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer, who competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics winning Gold

Sources +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print