Brazil
A surname that may come from a place name, a trade name tied to brazil-wood dye, or an Irish form of Ó Breasail.
The #6,373 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,785 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has more than one plausible source. In English records it may be a nickname or trade-based name connected with brazil-wood, the red dyewood that gave its name to the medieval trade term and ultimately to the country of Brazil. In Irish usage, it can also represent an anglicized form of Ó Breasail, from a Gaelic personal name meaning something like “descendant of Breasal.”
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers noted Brazil alongside Brazell as possibly linked to a craft or trade term, especially in England. Irish genealogical sources also record forms such as O’Brazil, Brassill, Brazel, and Brazil, showing that the name was in use as an anglicized Irish surname as well. Because both traditions exist, modern bearers of the name may have different origins depending on family line and region.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries sometimes connected Brazil with braise or brazil-wood, the dye material that also influenced the name of the South American country.
From the historical record
“* Mr. H. N. Claringbold was third mate of the emigrant vessel Kapanda, lost in a collision off the coast of Brazil * : Man- chester Goardian, FeK i, 1887. 'The Rev. E. R Clarabnt, B.A» licensed to Sl Michael and All Angels, Waltham- stow * : Manchester Coorier, May 17, 1888.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)