Show ContentsBrunning History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Brunning Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Brunning

What does the name Brunning mean?

The name Brunning is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was a person with brown hair or a dark complexion. The surname Brunning is derived from the Old English word bruning, which was in common usage until the 14th century. 1 This word is itself a derivative of the word brun, which means brown. The name was in usage as a personal name as early as 1086, when Bruning de Cestretona was recorded as a holding lands in Cambridgeshire. 2

Early Origins of the Brunning family

The surname Brunning was first found in Cambridgeshire but by the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name had scattered throughout most of ancient Britain. By example, that rolls listed Henry Brunwyne, Staffordshire; John Brunwyn, Suffolk; Richard Brunwyn, Lincolnshire; Avice Bruning, Cambridgeshire; John Bruning, Norfolk; Roger Bruning, London; and Ivo Brunig, Huntingdonshire. 3

Kirby's Quest listed the name as a forename and a surname: Brounyng le Fox, Somerset, 1 Edward I; and Brounyng Bycheheye, Somerset, 1 Edward I (during the first year of King Edward I's reign.) 4

"Browning is an old and often distinguished county name: there was an ancient family of this name at Cowley, [in Oxfordshire] where they long resided." 5

As time moved on, spellings changed. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Agnes Brownyng, a spelling closer to the spellings used today. 3

A little further to the north in Scotland, early records there included John Brwnyng, as one of the "burgenses rure manentes" of Aberdeen, 1317, and "Sir John Browning was sheriff there in 1328. Willelmus Bronnyng in the parish of Fyvy was excommunicated in 1382. " 6

Early History of the Brunning family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brunning research. Another 199 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1291, 1328, 1382, 1580, 1584, 1634, 1639, 1647, 1658, 1664, 1667 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Brunning History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brunning Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Brunning has undergone many spelling variations, including Browning, Brownyng, Bruning, Brownigg, Brownygg and many more.

Early Notables of the Brunning family

  • Benjamin Brunning (fl. 1664), was a nonconformist divine, son of the Rev. John Brunning, rector of Semer in Suffolk. 7

Brunning migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Brunning were among those contributors:

Brunning Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Martin Brunning, who arrived in North America in 1832-1849 8
  • Henry Brunning, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1837 8
  • Henry Brunning who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1840
  • Heinrich Brunning, who arrived in Texas in 1846 8
  • M Ells Brunning, who landed in America in 1846 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Brunning (post 1700) +

  • L. L. Brunning, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Washington, 1924 9
  • Nancy Brunning (1971-2019), New Zealand actress and director, recipient of Best Actress awards on stage and screen in 1999 and Best Actress at the NZ Film Awards in 2000
  • John Brunning (b. 1954), British musician, radio presenter and composer
  • Noel Brunning, Australian television presenter
  • Robert "Bob" Brunning (b. 1943), British musician
  • Carl Brunning, British advertising agent and president for life of The Brunning Group Ltd., London
  • Frederick Brunning Maddison (1849-1907), English footballer who played for England as a midfielder in the first international match against Scotland
  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  5. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  6. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  7. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  8. 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)
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

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