| ![Show Contents]() Bret History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of BretWhat does the name Bret mean? The name Bret has a long French heritage that first began in northwestern region of Brittany. The name is derived from when the family lived in the province of Brittany, known to the French as Bretagne. Dwellers in this province were referred to as Bretons. Early Origins of the Bret familyThe surname Bret was first found in Brittany, where the family has held a family seat since ancient times. Early History of the Bret familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bret research. Another 310 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1558, 1609, 1655, 1679, 1700, 1900 and 1913 are included under the topic Early Bret History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bret Spelling VariationsChanges of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Bret, including Breton, Bretone, Bretton, Breto, Bretto, Bret, Bretau, Breteau, Brettau, Bretteau, Bretaux, Brettaux, Lebreton, Lebreteau, Lebreto and many more. Early Notables of the Bret familyNotable amongst this name at this time was - Denis Lebreton, Magistrate and Legislator
- Cardin Le Bret (1558-1655), a French jurist, a major supporter of the legal basis for the rule of Cardinal Richelieu in France
Bret RankingIn France, the name Bret is the 834th most popular surname with an estimated 6,145 people with that name. 1
| Bret migration to the United States | + |
French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Bret surname were
Bret Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Alfonso. Bret, who landed in America in 1890 2
| Contemporary Notables of the name Bret (post 1700) | + |
- Anthony Bret (b. 1972), American television actor, and comic
- Ernst Bret, American stand-up comedian
- Iwan Bret (b. 1982), American voice actor and an illustrator
- Cardin Le Bret (1558-1655), French jurist
- Patrice Bret (b. 1971), French ski mountaineer
- David Bret (b. 1954), French-born British author of showbiz biographies
- Barry Bret Helton (b. 1965), former American college and NFL football player for the San Francisco 49ers (1988–1990) and the Los Angeles Rams (1991)
- Frank Bret Thorn, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Erie County 9th District, 1908-12, 1914-15 3
- Francis Bret Harte (1836-1902), American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. In 1987 he appeared on a $5 U.S. Postage stamp, as part of the "Great Americans" Series of issues
- Louis Bret Hart (1869-1939), American Republican politician, Erie County Surrogate, 1905-39; Delegate to New York convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933 4
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
- 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, August 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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