Browster Surname

4,772,636th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 17 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
England

Browster Surname Definition:

From the occupation of 'brewster' or 'brewer.' The feminine suffix -ster, as with Baxter, shows that originally it was a woman's occupation. Sir John Skene, in his De verborum significatione, defines 'Browsters' as 'wemen quha brewes aill to be sauld'.

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Browster Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England161:3,482,379114,324
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England71:3,482,19689,582
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States11:50,218,684817,899

Browster Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

From the occupation of 'brewster' or 'brewer.' The feminine suffix -ster, as with Baxter, shows that originally it was a woman's occupation. Sir John Skene, in his De verborum significatione, defines 'Browsters' as 'wemen quha brewes aill to be sauld'. In mediaeval Latin documents the word is rendered braciator (a word of Gaulish origin as noted by Pliny, Hist. Nat., XVIII, 11, whence French brasseur, brewer). Nicholaus, braciator regis (i.e. the king's brewer), was present at the perambulation of lands in 1219 (APS., I, p. 91). Johannes the 'braciator' was one of the 'native men' of the Abbey of Dunfermline in the thirteenth century (RD., 330), and Thomas le Breuester of the forest of Passeley in the county of Lanark rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, p. 213). Johannes dictus Brouster held land in Aberdeen in 1382 (RMS., I, 682), Robert Brewester, a Scot, received letters of denisation in England in 1480 (Bain, IV, 1465), another Robert Broustar was burgess of Glasgow in 1487 (REG., 449), William Broster held land in Arnbroath in 1513 (RAA., 11,541), Thomas Brouster was curate to Sir John Swinton of that Ilk in 1515, and Duncanus Broustir appears in Murthlac, 1550 (Illus., II, p. 261). In some instances, particularly in the north, this name is a translation of Macgbuer, which see. Gillecrist Brouster was one of the sufferers from the hersliip of Petty in 1502 (Rose, p. 176). Broistar 1541, Brostar 1460, Broustar 1528, Broustare 1556, Browistar 1550, Browster 1798, Browstare 1468.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

A brewer. See termination STER, and English Surn. in voc.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Browster Last Name Facts

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

Browster occurs more in England more than any other country/territory. It may be found in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of Browster click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Browster? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 4,772,636th most frequently used surname on a global scale, held by around 1 in 428,679,172 people. The last name Browster is primarily found in Europe, where 94 percent of Browster reside; 94 percent reside in Northern Europe and 94 percent reside in British Isles.

The last name Browster is most commonly occurring in England, where it is carried by 16 people, or 1 in 3,482,379. In England Browster is most prevalent in: Wiltshire, where 31 percent live, West Yorkshire, where 31 percent live and West Midlands, where 25 percent live. Apart from England Browster exists in one country. It is also common in The United States, where 6 percent live.

Browster Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Browster has changed over time. In England the number of people carrying the Browster surname expanded 229 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Browster Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Browster surname is principally Congregationalist (100%) in Ireland.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Broewster940/
Brewster8839,989/
Bruwster885/
Brovster881/
Browstei881/
Brawster880/
Brewsster821/
Brewstier821/
Brewstter821/
Brrewster821/
Breuwster821/
Breewster820/
Brewstir750/

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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 Browster
  • 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