Brunelle
A French surname likely meaning “little brown one” or “the brown-haired one.”
The #7,133 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,859 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Brunelle is best understood as a French surname built on brun, meaning “brown,” with the diminutive suffix -elle. In that sense it would originally have referred to a person with brown hair, a dark complexion, or perhaps a brown-colored garment. The name may also reflect a nickname or a feminized/diminutive form from the same root rather than a direct occupational or place-based origin.
History
The surname is associated especially with French-speaking regions and later spread to North America through French migration, particularly to Canada and then into the United States. In some cases it may also reflect a surname formed independently in different French localities from the same brown-related root. Modern bearers are found in francophone communities and in areas shaped by French-Canadian settlement.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because brun simply means “brown,” surnames from this root often began as very plain descriptive nicknames rather than noble or place-name labels.