Brittingham last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Brittingham

Derived from a place name meaning "homestead of Brytta's people" in Old English.

Brittingham, 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 Brittingham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brittingham in America

Brittingham is the 8875th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brittingham surname appeared 3,689 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 Brittingham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brittingham 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 8875 8517 4.12%
Count 3,689 3,562 3.50%
Proportion per 100k 1.25 1.32 -5.45%

The history of the last name Brittingham

The surname Brittingham is of English origin, derived from the place name Brittingham in the county of Norfolk, England. This place name is believed to have its roots in the Old English words "bryht" meaning "bright" or "brilliant" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "village". The earliest known recording of this surname dates back to the 13th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England, there is a mention of a place called "Britingham" in Norfolk, which is likely the precursor to the modern Brittingham surname. This suggests that the name has been in existence for nearly a thousand years.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Brittingham was John Brittingham, who was born in Norfolk, England, around 1250. He is mentioned in several local records from that time period.

Another notable bearer of this surname was Sir Robert Brittingham, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War between England and France in the 14th century. He was instrumental in the English victory at the Battle of Crécy in 1346.

In the 16th century, a family of Brittinghams settled in the village of Brettenham in Suffolk, England, which may have led to variations in the spelling of the surname, such as Brettenham or Brettingham.

During the 17th century, several Brittingham families immigrated to the American colonies, with records showing their presence in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maryland.

One of the earliest recorded Brittinghams in America was William Brittingham, who was born in England in 1620 and settled in Northampton County, Virginia, in the 1640s. He became a prominent landowner and was involved in local government.

Another notable figure was John Brittingham, born in 1685 in Somerset County, Maryland. He was a successful merchant and served as a justice of the peace in his community.

In the 18th century, a branch of the Brittingham family settled in Pennsylvania, with Joseph Brittingham, born in 1735, becoming a wealthy landowner and respected member of the community.

Overall, the Brittingham surname has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including knights, landowners, merchants, and government officials.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brittingham

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

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 Brittingham was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 74.00% 2,730
Non-Hispanic Black Only 21.23% 783
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.33% 12
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.33% 12
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.44% 90
Hispanic Origin 1.68% 62

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 74.00% 77.85% -5.07%
Black 21.23% 19.15% 10.30%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.33% 0.34% -2.99%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.33% 0.31% 6.25%
Two or More Races 2.44% 1.07% 78.06%
Hispanic 1.68% 1.29% 26.26%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brittingham, 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!

"Brittingham last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/brittingham-surname-popularity/.

"Brittingham last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/brittingham-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 December, 2024

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

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