This ancient and distinguished name has two distinct origins, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, the name Brewer may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and an occupational surname for a brewer of beer or ale, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "breowan", to brew, giving the Middle English term "brewere". The modern surname Brewster has the same derivation, but shows the early medieval "-ster", suffix which originally denoted the feminine gender, but by the middle of the 13th Century was used for both sexes.
Similar formations include Baker and Baxter, and Webber and Webster. The first recording of the surname from this source is that of Richard Briwerra, in the "Ancient Charters" of Hampshire. The second possible origin of Brewer is from a Norman locational surname, as in the first recording, below, from the place called Bruyere in Calvados, or an Old French topographical name for someone who lived in a place where heather grew; the placename and the topographical term are derived from the Old French "bruyere", heather. One John le Brewer is recorded in the Exchequer Lay Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. Daniell Brewer, of Dartmouth, Devonshire, was an early emigrant to the New World colonies, leaving Dartmouth in June 1632 for a plantation in New England. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph de Brueria, which was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book of Devonshire, during the reign of King William 1, known as "William the Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname brower is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation. Adhering to what we know about the way surnames originated, it is possible to offer a realistic explanation of the origins of brower.
The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname brower provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations.
For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname brower, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of brower developed. In the following lines, you will find everything we have been able to gather about the surname brower.
We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about brower and send it to us, we will update it on this website.
Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname brower were recorded by the chroniclers of the time. If you or someone you know bears the surname brower, you could potentially build illustrious lineages through your efforts and virtues.
The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of brower are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation. Accessing the archives of the town or towns where your ancestors were born and lived is, of course, a good way to trace the origins of brower.
These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of brower, and at the same time, of surnames in general.