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Brill Family History

Brill Surname Meaning

English: habitational name from Brill in Buckinghamshire named with the Celtic element bre- ‘hill’ + Old English hyll also ‘hill’. North German and Dutch: habitational name from any of various places in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands named Brill from Middle Low German brūl bröil ‘wet lowland’. Compare German Bruehl.

German: from Middle Low German brill ‘eyeglasses’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spectacles or perhaps a nickname for someone who wore them.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name most likely Yude (Juda) Leyb.

Many Ashkenazic surnames beginning with Br- and Bar- are of acronymic origin but without detailed evidence from family histories it is impossible to specify the personal name from which each is derived.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Brill family from?

You can see how Brill families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Brill family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Brill families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 137 Brill families living in London. This was about 28% of all the recorded Brill's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Brill families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Brill surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Brill ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Brill. 14% of Brill men worked as a General Labourer and 80% of Brill women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Brill were Builders Labourer and Incapacitated.

View Census Data for Brill | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    14%
  • Dairy Farmer
    8%
  • Electrician
    8%
  • Builders Labourer
    8%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    80%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    5%
  • Private Means
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    3%

What Brill family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 58,000 census records available for the last name Brill. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Brill census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Brill

Passenger Lists

There are 9,000 immigration records available for the last name Brill. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Brill immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 12,000 military records available for the last name Brill. For the veterans among your Brill ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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