Brothers
Likely a patronymic or plural-family surname from “brother,” originally meaning “the brothers” or “son of Brother.”
The #3,096 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,572 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is built on the word brother, from Old English and related Germanic forms meaning a male sibling. In surname use, it most likely began as a descriptive family-name referring to a group of brothers, or as a patronymic derived from a man called Brother/Brothere. The form is straightforwardly English in shape, and the plural spelling Brothers fits a family-based naming pattern.
History
English surname dictionaries treat Brothers as a variant under Brother, and related forms such as Brotherton and Brotherson appear in medieval and later records. The name is established in Britain and also carried to North America, where it survives as a relatively uncommon surname. Because the spelling is plural, it may have been reinforced in some cases by a literal family reference rather than a single-person byname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books often file Brothers simply under Brother, showing how fluid English surname spellings could be before standardization.
From the historical record
“Brotherson, and the local Brotherton. BROTHERS. See Brother. BROTHERSON. See Brother. Also like the 0. Norse, hrochirson, a nephew. BROTHERTON. A parish in York- shire. See Brother. BRO UGH. Parishes, &c., in cos. West- moreland, Derby, York, &c. BROUGHAlNf. From Brougham castle,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom