Brenston

This most interesting surname is of Old French origin, and is a locational name from "Briencun", a place in Normandy. A family from this place gave their name to Brimstone Hill in Little Wakering, Essex. The surname may also derive from a patronymic form of the name Brim, which itself comes from the Middle English "brem(e), brim(me)", vigorous, fierce, from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "breme", famous, noble, with the patronymic ending "-son", hence "Brimson". The surname was first recorded in the mid 13th Century (see below), and Bartholomew Brimsun was recorded in 1274 in the Hundred Rolls of Essex. One Joan de Bryaunesoun was mentioned in 1297 in the Feet of Fines of Essex. In the modern idiom the surname has several spelling variants including Brinson, Brimson and Breston.The name development includes: Breaunsons (1419), Bremsons, Bramsons (1549), and Brendston (1553), while New Hall in Purleigh, Essex, was formerly called "Brymshams" (1527), "Bremstones" (1537) and "Brempsons" (1554), from members of the Essex family. William, son of Christopher and Susanna Brimson, was christened on September 27th 1692 at St. Nicholas', Rochester, in Kent. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Brinzun, which was dated 1240, in the "Feet of Fines of Essex", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.