Bray / / / / Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Bray / / / / Family History

Bray / / / / Family History

The Bray ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. 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 Bray include Braye, Bree and Brea. This surname is usually of locational origin from the place 'de Bre' in Cornwall but can also be an anglicized form of the Gaelic O'Breaghdha sept name, which indicates a person from Bregia, a place in County Meath. An early record from the year 1207 shows that families of the name were closely associated with Clonmel in County Tipperary. Several of the name were sovereigns of that town between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. In the year 1273 a Thomas de Bray was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls'. A John Bray was recorded as being outlawed as a Jacobite in the year 1691, he being the Alderman of that town. Other families were recorded in the Hearth Money Rolls, one being Thomas Bray who was Archbishop of Cashel from 1792 to 1810. The variant Bree is most often found in Counties Dublin, Sligo and Mayo. The Bray 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 Bray descendants.