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Brett Genealogy
Bretons were Celtic-speakers from present-day Brittany in France. They brought the Brett name with them when they came over with William the Conqueror or in succeeding centuries. In France and among Normans, however, the Bretons had a reputation for stupidity. In some cases the Brett name and its variants may have started out as a derogatory nickname.
Brett enjoyed a revival in reputation later in the Middle Ages as a first name. Brett could mean a native of Brittany. It could also mean a native of Britain. This latter use here spread first in England and then overseas where its original connotation gradually got lost.
Select Brett Resources on The Internet
England. The Breton name first appeared in public records in England after the Norman Conquest in Devon. Ansger the Breton held lands there in the Domesday Book. William le Bret owned this land in the late 1100's. Richard le Bret from Somerset was one of the killers of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury in 1170 (although the suspicion was that he was a Saxon rather than a Breton).
A Brett family established themselves at Whitstaunton near Chard in Somerset in the 1400's. However, Lady Anne Brett lost her lands and her "fair old stone mansion" during the reign of Henry VIII. Sir Edward Brett from this family was buried in Bexley church in Kent. A decorated soldier, he fought for the Royalists during the Civil War and later on the Continent for William of Orange.
More Bretons settled in East Anglia where the Brett name became quite widespread. Le Bret families held lands near Boston in Lincolnshire and in Aveley in Essex from the 1200's. In Norwich, St. George's church records show Richard Brett marrying Elizabeth Leive in 1552; and the Brett name can be found around Norfolk parishes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. One Brett institution, sadly, is being wound up. Jonathan Brett had started his family furniture business in Norwich in 1870. There was a time when every British embassy in the world had at least one piece of Brett furniture. But these days are long gone.
The largest number of Bretts in England were and still are to be found in Kent, particularly around Tenterden and Ashford. Percival Brett was the mayor of Tenterden in 1609. His family remained influential in that town for the next two hundred years. A Brett family dates from the 1540's at Spring Grove in Wye. Many of them were clergymen, in their time Catholic-leaning. Thomas Brett in fact resigned from his post in 1714 when the new Protestant oath took effect.
There were also Brett clergymen from London, starting with the Rev. Richard Brett in the late sixteenth century. An erudiite man who a wide range of interests, he is buried in Quainton church in Buckinghamshire where he had ministered for forty three years.
The progeny of Rev. Joseph Brett, a vicar of London in the early nineteenth century, presents a more unorthodox picture. His son William rose to be Lord Esher, a lawyer with possibly a rakish side to him (he married Eugenie Meyer, the illegitimate daughter - it was said - of Napoleon Bonaparte). Their son Reginald was a close confidant of the Royal Family who helped to edit the papers of Queen Victoria. But he was also said to have carried on a series of chaste pederastic friendships with adolescent boys throughout his life. His daughter Sylvia Brett, who had a troubled early life (twice trying to kill herself), ended up marrying his Highness Rajah Vyner of Sarawak and living a glittering socail life.
Ireland. The name Milo le Bret dates from 1199 when he was granted lands in Dublin and in Rathfarnham in nearby county Louth. In succeeding centuries, the Bretts were considered among the leading landed gentry of Louth.
In the early seventeenth century, the Taaffe family had moved into Sligo on the west coast where they quickly became one of the largest of the new landlords. The Bretts followed them. Jasper Brett built a fortified home at Deroon. Although the family was staunchly Catholic, they somehow managed to survive the Cromwell incursions and the subsequent Catholic penal laws and continued to practice their faith. Eighteenth century Brett priests included Father John, who spent most of his working life in Italy, and Father Charles, who ministered at Ballysadare until his death in 1768. Brett names continue in and around Achonry.
America. There arrived in America in the 1630's two Bretts, one into Virginia and the other into New England. The first, Mary the sister of Sir Edward Brett, had married William Isham and they were one of the first families of Virginia. The second, William Brett from Kent, settled in Bridgewater. He became an elder in his church and was respected as a "grave and godly man."
Canada. Many Irish Bretts emigrated to Canada in the nineteenth century. Jane and Elizabeth Brett arrived there in the 1820's. Their son Robert prospered as a merchant and banker in Toronto. Another first generation Robert Brett practiced medicine, moved west, and later became active in Alberta provincial politics.
Jasper and Celia Brett settled in Essex County, Ontario. Their name is still prominent there, as owners of The Essex Free Press. It has been operating as a family-run newspaper for over a hundred years, presently under Laurie Brett, the great granddaughter of the founder.
Select Brett Miscellany
Select Brett Names Milo le Bret appears to be the forebear of the Brett name in Ireland.
The Rev. William Brett joined the Church Missionary Society in 1840 and was their missionary in British Guiana for the next forty years. His memoir The Apostle of the Indians of Guiana recounts this missionary work.
Jeremy Brett was an English actor best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.
Select Bretts Today
Site Map: Select NamesBretons were Celtic-speakers from present-day Brittany in France. They brought the Brett name with them when they came over with William the Conqueror or in succeeding centuries. In France and among Normans, however, the Bretons had a reputation for stupidity. In some cases the Brett name and its variants may have started out as a derogatory nickname.
Brett enjoyed a revival in reputation later in the Middle Ages as a first name. Brett could mean a native of Brittany. It could also mean a native of Britain. This latter use here spread first in England and then overseas where its original connotation gradually got lost.
Select Brett Resources on The Internet
- Bretts from Sligo. Brett family genealogy.
England. The Breton name first appeared in public records in England after the Norman Conquest in Devon. Ansger the Breton held lands there in the Domesday Book. William le Bret owned this land in the late 1100's. Richard le Bret from Somerset was one of the killers of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury in 1170 (although the suspicion was that he was a Saxon rather than a Breton).
A Brett family established themselves at Whitstaunton near Chard in Somerset in the 1400's. However, Lady Anne Brett lost her lands and her "fair old stone mansion" during the reign of Henry VIII. Sir Edward Brett from this family was buried in Bexley church in Kent. A decorated soldier, he fought for the Royalists during the Civil War and later on the Continent for William of Orange.
More Bretons settled in East Anglia where the Brett name became quite widespread. Le Bret families held lands near Boston in Lincolnshire and in Aveley in Essex from the 1200's. In Norwich, St. George's church records show Richard Brett marrying Elizabeth Leive in 1552; and the Brett name can be found around Norfolk parishes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. One Brett institution, sadly, is being wound up. Jonathan Brett had started his family furniture business in Norwich in 1870. There was a time when every British embassy in the world had at least one piece of Brett furniture. But these days are long gone.
The largest number of Bretts in England were and still are to be found in Kent, particularly around Tenterden and Ashford. Percival Brett was the mayor of Tenterden in 1609. His family remained influential in that town for the next two hundred years. A Brett family dates from the 1540's at Spring Grove in Wye. Many of them were clergymen, in their time Catholic-leaning. Thomas Brett in fact resigned from his post in 1714 when the new Protestant oath took effect.
There were also Brett clergymen from London, starting with the Rev. Richard Brett in the late sixteenth century. An erudiite man who a wide range of interests, he is buried in Quainton church in Buckinghamshire where he had ministered for forty three years.
The progeny of Rev. Joseph Brett, a vicar of London in the early nineteenth century, presents a more unorthodox picture. His son William rose to be Lord Esher, a lawyer with possibly a rakish side to him (he married Eugenie Meyer, the illegitimate daughter - it was said - of Napoleon Bonaparte). Their son Reginald was a close confidant of the Royal Family who helped to edit the papers of Queen Victoria. But he was also said to have carried on a series of chaste pederastic friendships with adolescent boys throughout his life. His daughter Sylvia Brett, who had a troubled early life (twice trying to kill herself), ended up marrying his Highness Rajah Vyner of Sarawak and living a glittering socail life.
Ireland. The name Milo le Bret dates from 1199 when he was granted lands in Dublin and in Rathfarnham in nearby county Louth. In succeeding centuries, the Bretts were considered among the leading landed gentry of Louth.
In the early seventeenth century, the Taaffe family had moved into Sligo on the west coast where they quickly became one of the largest of the new landlords. The Bretts followed them. Jasper Brett built a fortified home at Deroon. Although the family was staunchly Catholic, they somehow managed to survive the Cromwell incursions and the subsequent Catholic penal laws and continued to practice their faith. Eighteenth century Brett priests included Father John, who spent most of his working life in Italy, and Father Charles, who ministered at Ballysadare until his death in 1768. Brett names continue in and around Achonry.
America. There arrived in America in the 1630's two Bretts, one into Virginia and the other into New England. The first, Mary the sister of Sir Edward Brett, had married William Isham and they were one of the first families of Virginia. The second, William Brett from Kent, settled in Bridgewater. He became an elder in his church and was respected as a "grave and godly man."
Canada. Many Irish Bretts emigrated to Canada in the nineteenth century. Jane and Elizabeth Brett arrived there in the 1820's. Their son Robert prospered as a merchant and banker in Toronto. Another first generation Robert Brett practiced medicine, moved west, and later became active in Alberta provincial politics.
Jasper and Celia Brett settled in Essex County, Ontario. Their name is still prominent there, as owners of The Essex Free Press. It has been operating as a family-run newspaper for over a hundred years, presently under Laurie Brett, the great granddaughter of the founder.
Select Brett Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Brett Names Milo le Bret appears to be the forebear of the Brett name in Ireland.
The Rev. William Brett joined the Church Missionary Society in 1840 and was their missionary in British Guiana for the next forty years. His memoir The Apostle of the Indians of Guiana recounts this missionary work.
Jeremy Brett was an English actor best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.
Select Bretts Today
The Origin/Spread of Surnames