Find out how popular the last name Brenton is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brenton.

Brenton, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brenton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brenton in America

Brenton is the 14827th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brenton surname appeared 1,999 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Brenton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brenton to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Brenton

The surname Brenton originates from the county of Devon in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'brent', meaning burnt or scorched, combined with the word 'tun', meaning an enclosure or settlement. This suggests that the name may have originated from a place or settlement where there had been a fire or burning event.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Brenton name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Devon from 1273, where it appears as 'Brentone'. This document was a census-like record of landowners and their holdings in the county of Devon.

The Brenton surname is also mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327, which were tax records for the county of Devon. This indicates that the Brenton family had established itself as landowners in the area by that time.

In the 16th century, the Brenton name appeared in the records of the nearby parish of Brent Tor, which is believed to be the origin of the surname. The village of Brent Tor is located near the town of Tavistock in Devon, and the name is thought to derive from the same Old English roots as the surname.

One notable individual with the Brenton surname was Sir Jahleel Brenton (1770-1844), a British naval officer and author who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Rhode Island but traced his ancestry back to the Brenton family of Devon.

Another prominent figure was Edward Pelham Brenton (1809-1839), a British naval officer and explorer who participated in several Arctic expeditions in the 1830s in search of the Northwest Passage. He published a narrative of his experiences titled "A Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea".

In the 17th century, the Brenton surname can be found in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where several members of the family emigrated from England. One such individual was William Brenton (1600-1674), who served as the Governor of Rhode Island from 1660 to 1662.

Another notable American with the Brenton surname was Jahleel Brenton (1691-1767), a merchant and landowner in Rhode Island who played a significant role in the colony's government and affairs.

Lastly, Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1807-1898) was a British naval officer and author who served in the Royal Navy during the 19th century. He wrote several books on naval history and biography, including "The Naval History of Great Britain" and "Life and Correspondence of Earl St. Vincent".

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brenton

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brenton.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brenton was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brenton has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Brenton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brenton, please contact us.

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