Bronwyne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Etymology of Bronwyne

What does the name Bronwyne mean?

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Bronwyne came from a "baptismal name, usually written Bruning. The appellation originally referred to complexion." 1 Another source has a slightly different understanding. "This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Brunwin.' It is curious to note how frequently 'w' and 'm' are interchangeable. Brunwin is sometimes found as Brumwin. In the Modern Domesday Book for Essex there are four Brunwins and two Bramwins." 2

Early Origins of the Bronwyne family

The surname Bronwyne was first found in Suffolk, where the family dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when the early Latin form of the name was Brunwinus or Brunnuinus. 3

Years later, Laurence Brunwyn was recorded in the Assize Rolls for Bedfordshire in 1247 and Richard Brunwyn was found in Lincolnshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1276. Later again, William Brounwyne and Geoffrey Bronwyne was entered into the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4

Looking again at the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, we found: Henry Brunwyne, Staffordshire; John Brunwyn, Suffolk; and Richard Brunwyn, Lincolnshire. 2

Up in Scotland, "John Brwnyng was 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." 5

Early History of the Bronwyne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bronwyne research. Another 145 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1247, 1276, 1327, 1647, 1667, 1682 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Bronwyne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bronwyne Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bronwyne family name include Brunwin, Brunswin, Brunwinus, Brunwyn, Brounwyne and many more.

Early Notables of the Bronwyne family

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

Migration of the Bronwyne family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bronwyne surname or a spelling variation of the name include: a number of settlers who arrived by the 19th century.

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)