Breeden Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Breeden Family History

Breeden Family History

The family history of the ancient name Breeden was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Breeden include Breedon, Briddon, and Bridden. This is a locality name meaning 'of Bredon', from a parish found in County Worcestershire. This name is of English descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts in the above country. Examples of such are a William de Bredun, County Leicestershire, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a William de Bredun who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax', of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379.

Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by the method of creating and updating these old reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.

In Ireland Breeden is most often found in Ulster Province having been introduced there by settlers from England and Soctland during the seventeenth century. Breeden and Bradden are also anglicized forms of the Gaelic O'Bradain Sept name of County Leitrim.The Breeden family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Breeden descendants.