Brand Family History

English, Scottish, Scandinavian, North German, and Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Brando, a short form of various compound personal names containing the element brand ‘sword’ (a derivative of brinnan ‘to flash’), of which the best known is Hildebrand. There is place name evidence for Brant(a) as an Old English personal name; however, the Middle English personal name Brand was probably introduced to England from Old Norse; Brandr is a common Old Norse personal name. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a place where burning had occurred, from Old English brand, or a habitational name from a minor place named with this word, as for example The Brand in Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. German: variant of Brandt 1. Scandinavian: from the personal name Brand, Brant, from Old Norse Brandr (see 1). Swedish: ornamental name from brand ‘fire’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name or nickname from German Brant ‘fire’, ‘conflagration’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press