Brear Family History

From Middle English (atte) bre(i)r ‘(at the) prickly or thorny plant’ refers to someone who lived by such plants, like brier (the dog rose) or bramble. Compare Briers. The word in (i) perhaps alludes to a sharp-tongued person. This seems to be implied by the Middle English surname Le Brer.

This could be short for atte brer ‘at the briar’ with scribal substitution of French le for English the. It is a reduced form of Brearey.

Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames cites Jonathon and Sarah Breary or Breare from 1691–1704 in Parish Registers (Silsden Kildwick WR Yorks).

Additionally, Miles Brearah or Brear is noted from 1757–62 in Parish Registers (Rothwell WR Yorks).