Breese Surname

78,699th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 6,206 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Jersey

Breese Surname Definition:

Breese is a Welsh patronymic surname. Before surnames were common in Wales, people were known by patronyms - that is by reference to their male ancestors. For example, Gruffydd ap Helyin ab Owain, means Gruffydd, son of Heylin, son of Owain.

Read More About This Surname

Breese Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,2381:85,5269,668
England8381:66,4897,720
Australia2851:94,72210,787
Canada2441:151,00715,383
Germany2281:353,09434,155
Wales2221:13,9391,532
New Zealand611:74,23510,965
Scotland161:334,61415,044
South Africa131:4,167,516132,322
Jersey101:9,9202,003
Thailand81:8,829,793476,604
France61:11,070,454349,096
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Mexico51:24,825,24158,251
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
Russia31:48,041,019639,186
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Belgium31:3,832,215117,288
Ireland21:2,354,47019,715
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Jamaica21:1,434,97411,081
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England4541:53,6906,448
Wales3471:4,520317
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,0311:48,7095,555

Breese (85) may also be a first name.

Breese Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Breese is a Welsh patronymic surname. Before surnames were common in Wales, people were known by patronyms - that is by reference to their male ancestors. For example, Gruffydd ap Helyin ab Owain, means Gruffydd, son of Heylin, son of Owain. Surnames were adopted as English influence increased in Wales. The majority of surnames were derived from patronyms. Thus John ap John, would become John Jones, or sometimes John John. In some cases the 'p' or 'b' from 'ap' or 'ab' was prefixed to the surname., creating surnames such as Bowen (from ab Owen) and Prichard (from ap Richard). Typically surnames beginning with a vowel would be prefixed with a 'b' and surnames that began with constants a 'p'. However, this was not always the case and is the source of surnames such as Bloyd (from ab Lloyd). Thus Breese is derived from a concatenation of 'ab' and the Welsh forename Rhys; and as such the surname is of the same origin as Price, Pryce, Preece and Prys.

It appears the surname arose predominately or only in Montgomeryshire and is heavily connected with the parish of Llanbrynmair, where the Breeses were yeoman farmers with a penchant for inter-marriage. The surname is still common in Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, but today is more often rendered Breeze. Breese family traditions state that there were two Breese families in Montgomeryshire, one being "Y Breesiaid Bloesgion" and rumoured to be French or Flemish in descent, likely changing their name to blend in.

It has also been suggested that this surname could derive from the old English 'breosa', meaning lively, but it appears there is no foundation for this claim.

Early Renderings include:Stolen from Fore bears

  • Elizabth Bryes, widow of Llanbrynmair, 1586, Welsh Probates
  • Robert Breese, of Poulton, Cheshire, yeoman, 1666, Cheshire Wills
— Forebears.io

(Celtic) for the Welsh ab-Rees or ab-Rhys = Son of Rees or Rhys: v. Rhys [Welsh ab, son (of]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Welsh) The son of Rhys (ardor, a rush).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

(Welsh.) A contraction of Ap Reese, the son of Reese, or Rice (which see); so Bevan from Ap Evan, Brice from Ap Rice, etc. Brys, Welsh, agility, quickness; Bresse, local, a small territory in Burgundy, France.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

A form of Brice, being the Norman-French pronunciation.

The Norman People (1874)

From the Old Norse, Bresi; from the Swedish, Braise; from the Danish, Bræs; from the Flemish, Brees; from the Dutch, Bres, Breys; from the German, Briese; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

The name of Breese or Breeze was represented in this county in the reign of Henry VIII. by a parishioner of Hackford called Breze (Bl.). The Norfolk name has probably not a common origin with the North Wales name of Breese, which is a contraction like Preece, of Ap Rees.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

The North Wales name of Breese like Preece is a form of Ap Rees. Breeuse and Breeze are old Norfolk names, where it is probable they have had a different origin, Brese being the form in the time of Henry VIII.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Breese Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Breese Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Breese has its highest incidence in The United States. It can also be rendered in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of Breese click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Breese? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 78,699th most numerous surname in the world, held by approximately 1 in 1,174,274 people. It occurs mostly in The Americas, where 53 percent of Breese are found; 53 percent are found in North America and 53 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,039,322nd most frequent first name worldwide, borne by 85 people.

This surname is most numerous in The United States, where it is borne by 4,238 people, or 1 in 85,526. In The United States it is most common in: Florida, where 5 percent are found, Ohio, where 5 percent are found and Texas, where 4 percent are found. Beside The United States this surname occurs in 28 countries. It is also found in England, where 14 percent are found and Australia, where 5 percent are found.

Breese Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Breese has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the surname increased 411 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 185 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it decreased 36 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it increased 200 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Breese Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Breese last name is principally Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Breese last name are 19.06% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 65.83% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Breese earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 71.5% less than the national average, earning R 67,716 per year; in United States they earn 6.4% more than the national average, earning $45,912 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.7% more than the national average, earning $52,018 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Breeser92140/
Breesee924/
Breeses921/
Breesse921/
Brees912,750/
Brese91601/
Breyesse861/
Breeze8310,021/
Briese834,484/
Breece832,662/
Bresee831,450/
Breeds83696/
Bresse83589/
Breest83381/
Braese83317/
Broese83258/
Breser83187/
Brezee83126/
Breuse83118/
Breise8389/
Brehse8344/
Breesa8337/
Brease8327/
Vreese8319/
Breesh8314/
Bruese837/
Brejse837/
Breges836/
Brezes835/
Breset834/
Breege832/
Bresez832/
Breyse832/
Breces831/
Breess831/
Breses831/
Bretse831/
Bregee830/
Breets830/
Bresey830/
Bresea830/
Breesy830/
Bres805,551/
Breiesser802/
Bresser773,220/
Breysse772,535/
Bresett77475/
Breesch77329/
Bresset77283/
Breezee77255/
Breches77124/
Breeger7790/
Bresges7782/
Breisse7758/
Breezie7748/
Breezer7745/
Breiser7740/
Breiset7736/
Breuser7723/
Bresies7722/
Bressey7720/
Bretser7714/
Breszee7714/
Briesse7711/
Breusse7711/
Breezes775/
Broeshe775/
Breesth775/
Bresses773/
Breezey773/
Bruesse773/
Brijees772/
Breysee772/
Bressea772/
Bredges772/
Breseet771/
Bressee771/
Breasee771/
Breesha771/
Breezed771/
Breejer771/
Breesis771/
Breises771/
Bressep771/
Brueshe770/
Bretseh770/
Breseer770/
Breecie770/
Bresedd770/
Breaser770/
Brose738,584/
Breus736,476/
Brest734,955/
Brase733,300/
Breis732,129/
Bress731,295/
Bries731,183/
Brege73971/
Brise73829/
Breje73748/
Bresa73565/
Bröse73540/
Breze73341/
Breas73325/
Bresh73302/
Breez73191/
Brets73147/
Vrees73120/
Bresz73102/
Bräse7393/
Bryse7347/
Wrese7331/
Brece7325/
Breys7318/
Bresi7311/
Brehs7311/
Breče7311/
Breds738/
Brges737/
Breže737/
Vrese734/
Brejs733/
Breße733/
Breës732/
Bresd732/
Breše731/
Bresy731/
Bretches71253/
Breecher71206/
Broesche71201/
Bressett71126/
Breiseth7181/
Brouesse7137/
Breetsch7134/
Brecheis7129/
Bresseas7117/
Breeches7115/
Breasett7113/
Brieysse7112/
Brettser719/
Breisser718/
Bresheas712/
Breidges711/
Brejeshi711/
Bresserr711/
Brecheer711/
Bhroeshe711/
Broyesse711/
Brijeesh711/
Briessie711/
Braesche710/
Bressest710/
Bruesche710/
Brosse674,336/
Brasse672,512/
Brouse672,432/
Bressi672,251/
Breger671,781/
Bressy671,721/
Brisse671,652/
Bresch671,612/
Brause671,480/
Bresci671,315/
Bressa671,276/
Brazee671,197/
Breuss67973/
Brasey67597/
Breech67587/
Broeze67430/
Brosey67355/
Breche67334/
Vriese67316/
Briset67290/
Brizee67253/
Broise67240/
Brysse67235/
Breish67212/
Bregeš67193/
Breusa67172/
Braase67140/
Brieze67124/
Briges67105/
Breyze67104/
Britse67102/
Brasee6798/
Brezet6797/
Breiss6795/
Bretts6793/
Bhrose6790/
Brejer6789/
Breads6788/
Breget6788/
Brizes6781/
Bregge6776/
Brezer6774/
Breast6771/
Brestt6770/
Breuze6762/
Brezis6758/
Breßer6757/
Bresgi6755/
Wrease6753/
Bresie6752/
Breisa6751/
Brisee6749/
Braise6747/
Breijs6747/
Broseh6741/
Breice6739/
Breusz6735/
Bresha6733/
Briess6732/
Vreeze6726/
Brigee6726/
Bretge6726/
Bresis6726/
Briose6726/
Bregea6726/
Breeza6725/
Brecie6723/
Brisea6722/
Breysh6721/
Bruise6721/
Brosee6720/
Bregis6720/
Briece6718/
Briesh6717/
Breaze6714/
Brahse6714/
Bresge6713/
Breize6713/
Bregey6713/
Bresce6712/
Brozee679/
Breegi678/
Bresit678/
Bhrges677/
Brijes677/
Breshi677/
Brejea677/
Bröser677/
Breezy676/
Brecey676/
Brices676/
Brises676/
Breash676/
Brešer676/
Bresić676/
Brecea676/
Brezhe675/
Breusi675/
Bredge675/
Bruece675/
Breshy675/
Broesi675/
Breits675/
Brisey674/
Breyts674/
Briser674/
Brösse674/
Bresht673/
Bhresa673/
Vresse673/
Brezge673/
Brejei673/
Brejsa673/
Brisez673/
Brohse673/
Breged672/
Bryces672/
Breige672/
Breshe672/
Bredås672/
Brzesa672/
Bryges672/
Brajse672/
Breezi671/
Brejje671/
Bresth671/
Bretce671/
Brethches671/
Brgess671/
Brisei671/
Broyse671/
Brrece671/
Braeze671/
Briesi671/
Bregez671/
Breids671/
Breije671/
Brecis671/
Broïse671/
Brejże671/
Briehs671/
Brieže671/
Bresée671/
Bretsh671/
Brezsa671/
Brzesz671/
Bräges671/
Brézee671/
Breass670/
Breist670/
Bracee670/
Breace670/
Breuce670/
Brezze670/
Breush670/
Braseh670/
Broseu670/
Brizse670/
Brazse670/
Bhreus670/
Broeschie670/
Bresheads670/
Brasea670/
Brezed670/
Bresst670/
Brozse670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Breese
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis