Bryan (surname)

Bryan is a surname found in the English-speaking world.

This surname has several different origins. One origin of the name is from an Anglo-Norman name, de Brionne,[1] derived from either of two places called Brionne in the north of France—one is Brionne, in Eure; the other is Brionne in Creuse. Another origin of the surname is from the name which was brought to England and Ireland by the Breton followers of the Normans, who invaded in England in the 11th century. This name is thought to be derived from the same Old Celtic language element as the modern given name Bryan. When the Anglo-Normans invaded Ireland in the 12th century, this name was confused with the native Irish name Brian. The 'i' in "Brionne" is pronounced like a 'y', and as a result, as the names got confused, the y emerged.

People with this surname

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Norman people and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co. 1874, repr. 1999. ISBN 978-0-8063-0636-0. Bryan, or Brionne, from Brionne, Normandy, a branch of the Counts of Brionne, and the Earls of Hertford, descended from Gilbert, Count of Brionne, son of Richard I (Duke) of Normandy. Check date values in: |date= (help); Quoted at genealogy.com