Brett
A surname from Brittany or from the medieval French word for a Breton—someone from Brittany.
The #6,235 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,320 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Brett is generally explained from Old French Bret or Breton, meaning “a Breton,” that is, a person from Brittany in northwestern France. The deeper root is Latin Britto/Britto, a name used for Britons and Bretons alike in medieval records. In England the surname often appears in forms like le Bret or le Breton, showing that it began as an ethnic label rather than as a hereditary family name.
History
Medieval English records show the name early and widely, especially in Norman and post-Conquest contexts, and Domesday and later medieval documents include many bearers of Brito/Bret. Some place-names and family lines in England also preserve the form, and the surname spread into Scotland and elsewhere. In older Scottish usage, similar forms could also be applied more loosely to Welshmen or ancient Britons, which adds a small layer of ambiguity.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The medieval surname appears in records as le Bret and even Brito, and one famous early bearer, Hugh Brito, was linked by tradition to the lordship of Samford Brett in Somerset.
From the historical record
“common in France. Sec Brett. BRETT. Brito, a native of Brittany. The parish of Samford Bi-ett, co. Somerset, was the lordship of Hugh Brito, one of the assassins of Thomas a Becket. Domesday Book abounds with Brito as a surname. No less than seven persons bearing it Avere tenants in chief in many counties. They had…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom