Breckenridge
A Scottish surname that likely began as a place name, probably meaning “bridge by the bracken.”
The #6,814 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,385 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Breckenridge is generally treated as a locational surname from a place-name in Scotland. The name is usually explained as combining a word for bracken or fern-covered ground with ridge or bridge, giving a sense such as “bracken ridge” or “bridge by the bracken.” Because the surviving evidence is old and the spelling history is variable, the exact original form is not completely certain.
History
The surname is strongly associated with Scotland and later spread to Ulster and North America, where several prominent families carried it. In the United States, the spelling Breckinridge became especially well known through the political family of that name. The form Breckenridge and related spellings have long coexisted.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname has a famous U.S. political association: John C. Breckinridge was vice president of the United States from 1857 to 1861.
From the historical record
“Brec'kenbridge, 318. Breckenbury, 39. Breckenridge, 426. Breckinridge.* Bredcake, 364. Bredin, 161. Bree, 426. Breecher, 50.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)