Contents [hide]

Bryant History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Bryant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland-Alt

Etymology of Bryant

What does the name Bryant mean?

The name Bryant is of Norman origin, derived from the personal name Brian which was popular in France and Norman England before it came to Ireland. It has sometimes been used as a synonym for O'Brien, though it is of different origin.

Brian (926-1014), was King of Ireland, known in Irish writings as Brian Boroimhe, Boroma most commonly in earlier books as Brian Mac Cennedigh (Book of Leinster), and in English writings as Bryan Mac Kennedy and Brian Boru, He was a native of the northern part of Munster, and was of the royal descent of Thomond, of the family known as Dal Cais. Brian, who was born in 926, was the youngest of three sons. 1

Early Origins of the Bryant family

The surname Bryant was first found in County Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh), the former Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory), located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where bearers of the surname settled in the 13th century.

Early History of the Bryant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bryant research. More information is included under the topic Early Bryant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bryant Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Bryan, Brian, OBryan, McBryan, O'Bryant and others.

Early Notables of the Bryant family

Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bryant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bryant World Ranking

In the United States, the name Bryant is the 95^th most popular surname with an estimated 216,369 people with that name. 2 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Bryant is ranked the 751^st most popular surname with an estimated 57 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name Bryant is the 274^th popular surname with an estimated 12,588 people with that name. 4 New Zealand ranks Bryant as 217^th with 2,629 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Bryant as 350^th with 17,920 people. 6

Bryant migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bryant Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Stephen Bryant, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1632 7
Mr. John Bryant, who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship "Ark and Dove" 7
Michaell Bryant, who arrived in Virginia in 1636 7
John Bryant, who arrived in New England in 1640 7
Jon Bryant, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ellianor Bryant, who landed in Virginia in 1700 7
Cornelius Bryant, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 7
James Bryant, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 7
Benjamin Bryant, who landed in New England in 1716 7
Uriah Bryant, who landed in Virginia in 1722 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Martin Bryant, who landed in America in 1811 7
George Bryant, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1828 7
James C Bryant, aged 17, who landed in New York in 1830 7
Charles Bryant, who landed in New York in 1836 7
Charles William Bryant, who landed in Mississippi in 1846 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. James Bryant, (b. 1871), aged 29, Cornish miner, from Camborne, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 31st March 1900 en route to Red Jacket, Michigan, USA 8
Mr. Andrew Bryant, (b. 1867), aged 33, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 8th September 1900 en route to New York, USA 8
Mr. Thomas Bryant, (b. 1879), aged 21, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "New York" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 4th March 1900 en route to Greenwich, Connecticut, USA 8
Mr. William Bryant, (b. 1872), aged 31, Cornish miner, from St. Ives, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 31st May 1903 en route to Ishpeming, Michigan, USA 8
Mr. William P. Bryant, (b. 1846), aged 57, American labourer, from Port Isaac, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 10th October 1903 en route to Pennsylvania, USA 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bryant Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Thomas Bryant, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749
Thomas Bryant, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
Austin Bryant, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Margaret Bryant, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Mr. Patrick Bryant U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Bridget Bryant, who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1846

Bryant Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

G Bryant, who landed in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Bryant migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bryant Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Mr. John Bryant, (Briant), (b. 1758), aged 29, English convict who was convicted in Exeter, Devon, England for 7 years for assault, transported aboard the "Charlotte" on 13th May 1787, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1789 10
Miss Mary Bryant, (Broad), (b. 1765), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in Exeter, Devon, England for 7 years for assault, transported aboard the "Charlotte" on 13th May 1787, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10

Bryant Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Moses Bryant, (b. 1771), aged 30, Irish convict who was convicted in Wexford, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
Miss Catherine Bryant, (b. 1794), aged 20, English servant who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for shop lifting, transported aboard the "Broxbournebury" in January 1814, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. James Bryant, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 6th April 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
Mr. William Bryant, English convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 13th July 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
John Bryant, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on April 1st, 1822, settling in New South Wales, Australia 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bryant Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Scott Bryant, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
James Bryant, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Josiah Bryant, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
James Bryant, aged 27, a gardener, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 16
Mary Anne Bryant, aged 24, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 16
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bryant migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 17

Bryant Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

George Bryant, aged 25, who arrived in Barbados in 1604 7
Thomas Bryant, aged 23, who landed in St Christopher in 1634 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Bryant (post 1700) +

Kobe Bean Bryant (1978-2020), American professional basketball player, two-time gold Olympic medalist; he and his daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash January 26, 2020 18
Joseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant (1954-2024), American professional NBA basketball player and coach who played for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets
Barbara Everitt Bryant (1926-2023), American market researcher, the first woman to head the United States Census Bureau (1989-1993)
Cleve Bryant (1947-2023), American football player and head football coach at Ohio University from 1985 to 1989, MAC Offensive Player of the Year (1968)
Joyce Bryant (1927-2022), American singer, dancer and civil rights activist, an early African-American sex symbol, nicknamed "The Bronze Blond Bombshell", "The Black Marilyn Monroe", "The Belter" and "The Voice You'll Always Remember"
Barton Holan Bryant (1962-2022), American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions; he died on May 31, 2022, in a car accident in Polk City, Florida
Warren Bryant (1955-2021), American professional football player from Miami, Florida who was an offensive lineman from 1977 through 1984 in the National Football League (NFL)
John Baxter Browning Bryant (1957-2019), American singer-songwriter
Louise Bryant (1885-1936), born Anna Louise Mohan, an American feminist, political activist, and journalist
Edward Winslow Bryant Jr. (1945-2017), American science fiction and horror writer
... (Another 161 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bryant family +

HMS Dorsetshire

George Stanley Bryant, British Sick Berth Assistant aboard the HMS Dorsetshire (1945) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 19

HMS Hood

Mr. Denis M Bryant (b. 1905), English Midshipman serving for the Royal Navy from Kent, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 20

HMS Repulse

Mr. John H Bryant, British Stoker 2ne Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 21
Mr. Clifford Bryant, British Military Police, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 21

HMS Royal Oak

Henry Bryant, British Able Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 22
Jack E. Bryant, British Marine with the Royal Marine aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 22

USS Arizona

Mr. Lloyd Glenn Bryant, American Boatswain's Mate Second Class from California, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 23

Sources +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/charlotte
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/broxbournebury
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Kobe Bryant. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Kobe Bryant. Retrieved from http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant/
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html