BROKENSHIRE
The surname Brokenshire is of purely English provenance.
Its earliest etymology derives from the Old English elements brocen – meaning “broken” – and scir, a term denoting either “bright” or “clear”. As a result, the name originally described a person living near a clear or bright stream that had a broken or rocky terrain.
Another well‑documented origin is locational, linked to a place known as Birkenschawe in 1274, which later evolved into the modern locality of Birkenshaw in West Yorkshire, near Bradford. The place name term is a compound of the Old English bircen (birch) and sceaga (copse, grove), thus signifying “the birch grove”. Over time the surname has been adapted to the local Yorkshire pronunciation, giving variants such as Brokenshire, Brockenshaw, Brokenshaw, Bruckshaw, and Brigginshaw alongside related forms like Burkinshaw, Burtonshaw, Burtenshaw and Birtenshaw.
The first documented instance of the family name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield for the year 1274, where a man named William del Birkenschawe is recorded.
Subsequent medieval records illustrate the surname’s continued use and evolution: Roger Birchynshawe of London is mentioned in 1408, followed by Richard Brekynshawe of Yorkshire in 1501. An example of the name in the early modern period is Constance Brokenshire, who married John Bernard at St James Church, Dukes Place, Westminster, on 9 January 1685.
Throughout its history, the surname has been acknowledged chiefly within England, particularly in the Yorkshire region, and remains an established family name in contemporary British society.
Typical given names associated with the Brokenshire surname
Male
- Colin
- David
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Nicholas
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Robin
- Steven
Female
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Jean
- Joanne
- Lauren
- Louise
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Brokenshire in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 460 people named Brokenshire in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around seven in a million people in Britain are named Brokenshire.
Famous people named Brokenshire
- James Brokenshire - Politician
- Laurie Brokenshire - (1952 to 2017)
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.