BROOME
Broome is a surname of English origin, deriving from the Old English word brōm, meaning the broom shrub or gorse.
The name may have arisen for a person who inhabited an area abundant in broom, or for someone who produced brooms. It is therefore both a topographic and an occupational name in its earliest forms.
A further class of the surname is locational. Several places in England are recorded as Broom, Broome, or Brome. These include Broom in Bedfordshire, Durham and Worcestershire; Broome in Norfolk, Shropshire and Warwickshire; and Brome in Suffolk. All appear in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Brume or Brom, showing that the plant was a common landmark in medieval England.
The earliest documented spelling of the name is that of Robert de Brome, dated 1193 in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire during the reign of King Richard I, also known as The Lionheart (1189‑1199). This record confirms the use of the surname over eight hundred years ago.
Beyond the Domesday reference, the name appears in a number of other historical records. Roger Broome was an early emigrant to the New World, departing London on the vessel Truelove in September 1635 for New England. The union of John Sutton and Sarah Broome was recorded at St. George's, Hanover Square, London, in 1777, illustrating the surname’s continuity in the metropole.
The Broome family of Caunton, Nottinghamshire, and of Broome Hall, Yorkshire, were granted a coat of arms that features a black shield, a silver chevron, and three green sprigs of broom. The crest is a silver cockatrice, winged in silver, with a beak, legs, and a combed and wattled head in red.
In contemporary times the surname retains a fairly wide distribution, with notable bearers in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada. Among them are Samuel Broome, an English‑born American legislator, and Sir Frederick Broome, an Australian explorer and entrepreneur. The surname is also shared by the coastal city of Broome in Western Australia.
Variations in spelling are common and include Broom, Brooms, Brome, Broomey, Broomhead, Broomhall, and Broomball. These differences arose from local dialects and the varying literacy levels of those who recorded the name throughout history. Despite such variations, all formations trace back to the same Old English root referring to the broom plant.
Typical given names associated with the Broome surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
Female
- Angela
- Carole
- Caroline
- Christine
- Claire
- Emma
- Helen
- Jean
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Samantha
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Broom
- Brome
- Broomes
- Broomer
- Brooke
- Breum
- Bahram
- Bahrami
- Bairam
- Bairami
- Baram
- Barima
- Barm
- Barma
- Barmi
- Barom
- Barram
- Barrom
- Barum
- Bayram
- Beeram
- Behram
- Behrami
- Beram
- Berimi
- Berm
- Berme
- Bermeo
- Bermi
- Bermie
- Berrima
- Berum
- Bierrum
- Biram
- Birem
- Birom
- Boerm
- Boerma
- Boram
- Borm
- Borme
- Borom
- Borrom
- Borromeo
- Borum
- Braam
- Braem
- Brahm
- Brahma
- Brahme
- Brahmi
- Braim
- Braime
- Bram
- Brama
- Brame
- Brami
- Bramm
- Bramma
- Bramo
- Braum
- Brayme
- Bream
- Breame
- Breem
- Brehm
- Brehme
- Brem
- Briam
- Briem
- Brim
- Brima
- Brime
- Brimm
- Brimo
- Broam
- Brohm
- Brom
- Bromm
- Broo
- Broomley
- Brooms
- Broone
- Broum
- Browm
- Brum
- Bruma
- Brume
- Brumm
- Brumme
- Bryme
- Buraimo
- Buram
- Burema
- Burima
- Burm
- Burma
- Burmi
- Burmo
- Burram
- Buurma
- Byram
- Byrim
- Byrme
- Byrom
- Byrum
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Broome in...
Braille
⠃⠗⠕⠕⠍⠑
Morse
-....-.--------.
Semaphore
There are approximately 4,782 people named Broome in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,971st most common surname in Britain. Around 73 in a million people in Britain are named Broome.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Broome
- David Broome - Equestrian
- Albert Broome - Football player (1900 to 1989)
- Frank Broome - Football player (1915 to 1994)
- Ralph Broome - Bobsledder (1889 to 1985)
- Ian Broome - Cricketer
- Christopher Edmund Broome - Mycologist (1812 to 1886)
- Tommy Broome - Football player (1892 to 1956)
- Harry Broome - (1904 to 1)
- Jack Broome - Rugby league
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.