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

Brittain, 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 Brittain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brittain in America

Brittain is the 4096th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brittain surname appeared 8,671 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Brittain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brittain 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 Brittain

The surname Brittain has its origins in England and is a locational name derived from the place name Brittain, which comes from the Old English words 'Briten' and 'inn,' meaning "the dweller at the Briton settlement." The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appeared as 'Britteyn.'

The name is believed to have originated in the county of Devon, where there are several villages and parishes bearing the name Brittain or variations of it, such as Brittain Tracy and Brittain Clovelly. These place names likely refer to settlements established by Britons, the Celtic inhabitants of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard de Brittain, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1212. Another early record is that of William de Brittain, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.

The surname Brittain has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous was Richard Brittain (c. 1490-1558), an English Protestant reformer and martyr who was burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary I for his religious beliefs.

Another prominent bearer of the name was John Brittain (1653-1714), an English mathematician and astronomer who is best known for his work on the calculation of comets' orbits and his contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.

In the literary world, John Brittain (1918-1993) was a British playwright and screenwriter whose works included the play "Delicate Balance" and the screenplay for the film "The Day of the Triffids."

Sir Harry Brittain (1873-1974) was a British naval officer and politician who served as a member of parliament and held the position of First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I.

More recently, Vera Brittain (1893-1970) was a British writer and pacifist who is best known for her memoir "Testament of Youth," which chronicled her experiences during World War I and the loss of her fiancé and several close friends in the conflict.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brittain

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

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 Brittain 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 Brittain 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 Brittain was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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