Brittan last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Brittan

Of English origin, meaning "a Briton" or "born in Britain."

Brittan, 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 Brittan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brittan in America

Brittan is the 41038th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brittan surname appeared 531 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Brittan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brittan 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 41038 35916 13.31%
Count 531 591 -10.70%
Proportion per 100k 0.18 0.22 -20.00%

The history of the last name Brittan

The surname Brittan is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "Breten," which means "Britain" or "Briton." This suggests that the name may have originally been given to someone who came from Britain or had some connection to the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brittan can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086. This historic record lists a landowner named Brittan in the county of Lincolnshire. The name is also found in various other medieval records from the 12th and 13th centuries, including the Pipe Rolls and the Curia Regis Rolls.

In the 14th century, the surname Brittan appeared in several places across England, including Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. During this time, variations of the spelling included Britten, Brittin, and Brittain. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the era.

One notable individual with the surname Brittan was Sir John Brittan, a 15th-century English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset in 1455. Another prominent figure was Thomas Brittan, a 16th-century English merchant and explorer who participated in several voyages to the Americas and the West Indies.

In the 17th century, the surname Brittan gained prominence through individuals such as Nathaniel Brittan, a prominent Puritan minister and author who was born in 1630 and served as a pastor in Massachusetts. Additionally, William Brittan, born in 1644, was a successful merchant and landowner in Virginia.

The 18th century saw the rise of Samuel Brittan, a notable English philosopher and political economist who was born in 1776. He was known for his influential writings on political economy and his advocacy for free trade principles.

In the 19th century, Thomas Brittan, born in 1801, was a renowned English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Royal Exchange in London and the Church of St. George in Doncaster.

Throughout its history, the surname Brittan has been associated with various place names, such as Brittan Green in Worcestershire and Brittan Street in London. These place names may have derived from individuals with the surname Brittan who lived in or owned property in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brittan

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

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 Brittan was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 87.38% 464
Non-Hispanic Black Only 4.33% 23
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 2.07% 11
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 3.58% 19

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 Brittan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 87.38% 85.28% 2.43%
Black 4.33% 8.29% -62.76%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 1.02% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 2.07% 1.18% 54.77%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.35% (S)%
Hispanic 3.58% 2.88% 21.67%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Brittan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 7, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/brittan-surname-popularity/.

"Brittan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/brittan-surname-popularity/. Accessed 7 June, 2025

Brittan last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/brittan-surname-popularity/.

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