Breheny History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Breheny

What does the name Breheny mean?

The roots of the Breheny surname are linked to a set of 4,000 year old Irish law, known as the Brehon Law. There were no judges or lawyers, but the arbitrators whose responsibility it was to settle disagreements based on these laws were known as Brehons.

Early Origins of the Breheny family

The surname Breheny was first found in Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh), the former Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory), located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where they held a family seat as judges and scholars. Irish history was greatly influenced by the Norman invasion of 1172, and thereafter, the surnames of Irish Gaelic clanns and septs and many of the Norman families became almost indistinguishable. This ancient Irish family name was found later in Sligo represented another early reference to the name.

Early History of the Breheny family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breheny research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Breheny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breheny Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Brehon, Brehane, Brehany, Brehaney, Breheny, Brehony, MacBreheny and many more.

Early Notables of the Breheny family

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

Breheny migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Breheny Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Breheny, who was naturalized in Westmoreland Co. Pennsylvania in 1859
Bridget Breheny, who arrived in New York, NY in 1866

Contemporary Notables of the name Breheny (post 1700) +

Brian J. Breheny, Australian BAFTA Award nominated movie cinematographer, known for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Crawl (2011) and The Phantom (1996)
Vince Breheny, Irish actor, known for The Perfect Kiss (2015), Torsion (2016) and Walter's Weakening (2014)
Michael Breheny (1948-2003), English Professor of Planning at Reading University
John Gerald "Jack" Breheny (1910-2009), Australian politician from Toowoomba, Queensland, Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Darwin in 1951
Richard Breheny, Lecturer in the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College, London