Breton Surname History

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland

Etymology of Breton

What does the name Breton mean?

The surname Breton comes from the geographical place name Brittany, the region in France, and not from Great Britain.

Early Origins of the Breton family

The surname Breton was first found in County Kildare and County Meath, where the name was established in the 13th century. It is often preceded by "le," as in "le Breton," in the Judiciary Rolls and Ormond Deeds of Ireland. This is an important distinction over the English versions of the same surname. In England, the name was derived from de Bretagne.

"This name, which is to be found in most parts of Ireland, though nowhere very numerous; in Dublin it is sometimes spelt Brittain. Its origin is geographical but it is derived from Britany in France not from Great Britain. It occurs quite frequently in our mediaeval records such as the Justiciary Rolls and Ormond Deeds, with the prefix le-le Breton etc.-not de, though in England similar records have also de Bretagne. Though widely distributed it was first, in the thirteenth century, established in Co. Kildare and Co. Meath but by the seventeenth century Co. Tipperary was its main location, though fairly well established in Co. Wexford also. Thus it is listed in the 'census' of 1659 as a principal Irish name in the barony of Middlethird in that county and the Co. Tipperary hearth money rolls of the next decade include no less than 32 householders of the name." 1

"The 'census' of 1659 also contains, as a principal Irish name, MacBritany, in the barony of Glencarne, Co. Antrim. It is possible that some families so called did later abbreviate this to Britain, but as a rule MacBritany can be taken as an earlier anglicized form of Mac Breathnaigh (i.e. son of the Welshman, and so akin to Brannagh and Walsh) now usually MacBratney and still located in northeast Ulster." 1

Early History of the Breton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breton research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1567, 1659 and 1660 are included under the topic Early Breton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Britton, Breton, Brittain, Brittan and others.

Early Notables of the Breton family

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

Breton World Ranking

In the United States, the name Breton is the 5,885^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Breton is ranked the 398^th most popular surname with an estimated 11,649 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Breton is the 136^th popular surname. 4 France ranks Breton as 143^rd with 21,620 people. 5

Breton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Breton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Widow Breton, aged 53, who settled with her son Jean Pierre Breton, aged 17, in Charles Town in 1732
Mrs. Breton, aged 53, who arrived in South Carolina in 1732 6

Breton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J. Breton, aged 32, settled in New Orleans in 1820
Elizabeth Breton, aged 28, who settled in New York in 1820
James Breton, aged 60, settled in New Orleans in 1820
Rodrigo Breton, who arrived in Cartagena in 1834 6
Anton Breton, who arrived in New Spain in 1835 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Breton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Breton Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Le Petit Breton, who landed in Montreal in 1660
François Breton, son of Jean and Marie, who married Barbe Dumont, daughter of André and Catherine, in Quebec on 11th November 1668 7
René Breton, son of Mathieu and Michelle, who married Charlotte De Chavigny, daughter of François and Éléonore, in Quebec on 6th November 1668 7
Jean Breton, son of Jean and Marthe, who married Marie Crête, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Quebec on 21st April 1687 7

Breton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jean-Hilaire Breton, son of Jean and Marie, who married Marie-Josephte Paquet, daughter of Pierre and Marie, in Quebec on 3rd September 1716 7
Jacques Breton, son of Nicolas and Marie, who married Marie-Catherine Vernas, daughter of Louis and Marie-Charlotte, in Saint-Augustin, Quebec on 23rd April 1731 7
Jean-Charles Breton, son of Nicolas and Catherine, who married Marguerite Léger, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Quebec on 16th November 1750 7
Louis Breton, son of Jean-Hilaire and Marie-Josephte, who married Marie-Thérèse Thomas, daughter of Jacques and Thérèse, in Charlesbourg, Quebec on 5th July 1756 7
Samuel Breton, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1761
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Breton (post 1700) +

Leonello Breton (1904-1979), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Manchester 8th Ward, 1956; Treasurer of New Hampshire Democratic Party, 1957 8
Philippe Louis Jean Breton (1936-2020), French Roman Catholic Bishop of Aire et Dax (2002–2012)
Jean-Baptiste Breton, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 9
Henry Hugh Breton (1873-1936), Anglican clergyman and author
John Glossop Bythesea Le Breton (1884-1968), Soldier and Author
Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton, French painter
Thierry Breton (b. 1955), French executive, Chairman and CEO of France Télécom
Nicholas Breton (1545-1626), English poet
André Breton (1896-1966), French poet and literary theorist

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Jean-Baptiste Breton. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html