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Brake Family History

Brake Surname Meaning

English (Somerset and Dorset): topographic name for someone who lived by a clump of bushes or by a patch of bracken. Brake ‘thicket’ and brake ‘bracken’ were homonyms in Middle English. The first is from Old English bracu; the second is by folk etymology from northern Middle English braken -en being taken as a plural ending.

After the words had fallen together their senses also became confused. North German: habitational name from any of several places so named, notably a town on the Weser River, or a topographic name from Middle Low German brāke meaning either ‘breach in the dyke’ or ‘brushwood’.

Dutch (Te Brake, Van de Brake): topographic name from braak ‘wasteland, fallow’ or ‘breached (dyke)’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Brake family from?

You can see how Brake families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Brake family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Brake families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 76 Brake families living in Ontario. This was about 54% of all the recorded Brake's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Brake families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Brake surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Brake ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Brake. 28% of Brake men worked as a Farmer and 100% of Brake women worked as a Housewife.

View Census Data for Brake | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    28%
  • Clerk
    24%
  • Laborer
    8%
  • Labourer
    8%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Housewife
    100%

What Brake family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 41,000 census records available for the last name Brake. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Brake census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Brake

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Brake. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Brake immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 7,000 military records available for the last name Brake. For the veterans among your Brake ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Brake military records

You've only scratched the surface of Brake family history

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What is the average Brake lifespan?

Between 1942 and 2004, in the United States, Brake life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1955, and highest in 1998. The average life expectancy for Brake in 1942 was 59, and 67 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Brake

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Brake ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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