Bryan Family History

English (of Norman origin): habitational name (de Brionne) from either of two places called Brionne in northern France (in Eure and Creuse). Irish and English: from the Celtic personal name Brian (see O’Brien). Breton bearers of this name were among the Normans who invaded England in 1066, and they went on to invade and settle in Ireland in the 12th century, where the name mingled with the native Irish name Brian. This native Irish name had also been borrowed by Vikings, who introduced it independently into northwestern England before the Norman Conquest.

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