Brannon
A surname that is most often treated as an anglicized Irish form related to Brannan or Brennan.
The #2,253 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,134 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Brannon is usually explained as an English spelling of an Irish surname family, especially Brannan and sometimes Brennan. In Irish usage, these names are linked to old Gaelic personal names and bynames, though 19th-century writers were not always consistent about the exact source. The form Brannon itself looks like a later anglicized spelling rather than a separate old surname root.
History
The name appears in Irish surname lists and in North American records as a variant alongside Brannan, Brannen, Brennan, and similar forms. In English-speaking countries, spellings often shifted freely before standardization, so Brannon and Brannan could easily overlap in the same family line. The surname is found in the United States today in modest numbers, reflecting Irish and Scottish-Irish migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname compilers often grouped Brannon with several nearby spellings on the same page, showing how fluid these Irish-name forms were in record books.
From the historical record
“Brangan, Brankin. 0 tDnATiAin, Brannan, Brannon, Brennan, Brinan, etc. O "bfiAn-oviib, Braniff. 6 "bjiAnJAilo, Brannelly, Bran- ley.”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames