BREED
Breed is a surname of strictly English origin, having developed within the British Isles. The earliest attestation is found in the Feet of Fines roll of Norfolk, dated 1195, recording an individual named Brian de Brede during the reign of King Richard I, who is often referred to as the Lionheart.
The name is derived from the Old English word bred, meaning breadth or width. Historically it has been explained as a nickname for a person of broad or wide physical stature or a broad face, and later it may have been influenced by locational or occupational associations.
A more ancient form of the name appears in the pre‑7th century word braedu, which described a wide expanse of land, a definition reflected in the place name Brede in Sussex. The term was probably an agricultural designation for an area of good grazing, and the earliest instances of the surname are all connected with such rural locales.
Over the centuries the surname has been recorded in a variety of spellings, including Brede, Breed, Bread, Breede and Breedes. In the Kent and Sussex region a related form, Breeder, was used to denote a person who came from the village of Brede.
Notable early documents corroborate the distribution of the name: in the 1296 Subsidy Rolls of Sussex appear William de Bredes and John de Brede; the 1317 Assize Rolls of Kent record Elena atte Brede; and in 1352 the Colchester register lists Marjery Brede of Essex. Subsequent examples include Nathaniel Bread, noted at St Leonards Church on Eastcheap, London, on 3 March 1604; Rose Breede of St Giles Cripplegate, London, on 23 November 1589; and Thomas Breed, who married Sussannah Hunt at the Church of St Dunstans in the East of Stepney, on 10 December 1693.
The heraldic arms traditionally associated with the name consist of a red field charged with a lion rampant, enclosed by a green border, and finished with a semee of gold escallops. The emblem reflects the martial and agrarian heritage attributed to the family in recorded history.
Throughout its documented history the Breed surname has remained firmly anchored in the English-speaking Christian community of the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Breed surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Kenneth
- Leyton
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Simon
- Thomas
Female
- Barbara
- Carol
- Emma
- Helen
- Janet
- Julia
- Linda
- Pauline
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Susan
- Valerie
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
- Baird
- Bardoe
- Barot
- Barrat
- Barrett
- Barretto
- Birdi
- Braad
- Brad
- Brada
- Bradd
- Bradds
- Brade
- Bradea
- Brades
- Bradi
- Bradie
- Brado
- Brads
- Bradu
- Brady
- Braedy
- Braid
- Braida
- Braide
- Braids
- Bratt
- Bread
- Breaddy
- Breade
- Breadie
- Breads
- Bready
- Breda
- Breday
- Bredda
- Breddy
- Brede
- Bredee
- Bredie
- Bredl
- Bredo
- Bredow
- Bredy
- Bree
- Breedan
- Breeden
- Breeder
- Breedin
- Breedon
- Breeds
- Breedt
- Breedy
- Breedyk
- Brees
- Breet
- Breett
- Brete
- Brett
- Brette
- Briede
- Briedis
- Brito
- Brodie
- Burt
- Burtt
- Byrd
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Breed in...
Braille
⠃⠗⠑⠑⠙
Morse
-....-...-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 972 people named Breed in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,536th most common surname in Britain. Around 15 in a million people in Britain are named Breed.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Breed
- Colin Breed - Politician
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.