Brown


Select Brown Surname Genealogy

The name Brown is a nickname from the Old English brun - for someone of brown hair, or who wore brown clothing, or was called Brun as a personal name.  Browne is a variant spelling and is the more common in Ireland.   

Select Brown Resources on The Internet

England.  The name Brun or le Brun appeared frequently in 12th and 13th century records.  The first recording of Brown as a surname was John Brown, born in Stamford, Lincolnshire around 1312. 

Scotland.
   A Le Brun family held lands in Cumberland in the early middle ages when it was still part of the Scottish kingdom.  The Brouns of Colstoun of East Lothian date from the 12th century.  The spelling changed to Brown only later.  The name Brown was often taken by Highland clansmen when they wanted to get rid of their Gaelic names.  John Brown, Queen Victoria's famous gillie, may have been in this category.

Ireland.  A Browne family, apparently descended from the Norman de Brun, has been long established in Galway.  There are also Browns elsewhere in Ireland from later English arrivals. 

America.  The surname here has absorbed similar nicknames from other languages, brunn in Old Norse, bruin in Dutch, and braun in German. 

Select Brown Names

Capability Brown was an 18th century English landscape achitect.
John Brown was the Scottish servant to Queen Victoria.
Maggie Brown was an American socialite who became famous after surviving the sinking of the Titanic.
Helen Gurley Brown was the founder of Cosmopolitan.
James Brown was the acclaimed American funk and soul singer.
Gordon Brown was the recent British Prime Minister.

Select Browns Today

  • 380,000 in the UK (most numerous in London)
  • 418,000 in America (most numerous in Texas)
  • 159,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Australia)
Brown is the #2 ranked surname in Scotland. #4 in America, and #5 in the UK.


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For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.

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