Brashear
An American surname of uncertain origin, probably a variant spelling of Brash or a related British name.
The #7,221 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,799 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Brashear is usually treated as a spelling variant of Brash, or of a closely related British surname that was later respelled in America. The final element -hear likely reflects an English-language attempt to regularize or distinguish the name, rather than a separate original meaning. Because the surviving evidence is thin, the exact root is uncertain; it may ultimately be connected with a descriptive nickname or a regional form.
History
The name is documented in the United States by the mid-19th century, where it appears alongside other family names noted in contemporary lists of uncommon surnames. In American records, Brashear seems to have developed as a stable surname spelling rather than a large, widely diffused old-country form. Modern bearers are concentrated in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1861 publication mentions a student named Brashear at Harvard, showing the surname in use in educated American circles by the Civil War era.
From the historical record
“QuAKENBusH and QuAKENBosH, as also Messrs. Brash, Broach, Duykinck, and Bubb, live in New York. Messrs. Brashear and Gholson are students at Har- vard, 1860. Mr. Huckaby is one of the prosecuting attorneys of Indiana. Mr. Grush lives in Brookline, Mass. ; and Mr. Shunk was a midshipman in our navy in 1849. Mr.…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)