Bryn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Bryn family

The surname Bryn was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Thurnam, held by the King's steward, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. The village is now two villages, Upper and Lower Thurnham.

Early History of the Bryn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bryn research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1510 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Bryn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bryn Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Bryn, Brynn, Brin, Brinn, Bryne, Brine and others.

Early Notables of the Bryn family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

the Bryn family of Lancashire

Bryn migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Bryn or a variant listed above:

Bryn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Evan Bryn, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Bryn (post 1700) +

Rob Bryn, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 2008 3
Alexia Marie Bryn (1889-1983), Norwegian silver medalist pair skater at the 1920 Olympics
David Bryn Whitehouse FSA, FRGS (1941-2013), British archaeologist, Senior Scholar of the Corning Museum of Glass, Director of the British School at Rome (1974 and 1984)
Bryn St Pierre Parry CBE (1956-2023), British cartoonist and co-founder of the charity Help for Heroes in 2007 with his wife Emma to help wounded military veterans access rehabilitative treatment
Bryn Hargreaves (1985-2023), English professional rugby league footballer (2004-2012)
Bryn Chainey, British director and writer, known for Moritz and the Woodwose (2013), Film for the Boxed (2006) and Jonah and the Vicarious Nature of Homesickness (2010)
Bryn Gareth Crossley (1958-2018), Welsh flat racing jockey with 222 winners during his career, British flat racing Champion Apprentice (1981)
Bryn Merrick (1958-2015), Welsh musician, member of Cardiff-based punk band Victimize and later The Damned (1983-1989)
Bryn Stephen Halliwell (b. 1980), English football goalkeeper
Bryn Haworth (b. 1948), British Christian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html