Brown Surname Meaning[i]

English, Scottish, and Irish: Generally a nickname referring to the color of the hair or complexion, Middle English br(o)un, from Old English brun or Old French brun. As an American family name, it has absorbed numerous surnames from other languages with the same meaning.[i] The name is from an old adjective meaning ‘brown dark red,’ Old English and OHG. [ii]

Geographical[ii]

Although only ranked #202 globally, the surname Brown is ranked #2 in Scotland and Canada, #3 in Australia, and #4 in England and the United States. In the United States, it is surpassed only by Smith, Johnson, and Williams in frequency.[iii]

In the 1840s, the Brown families in the United States were in every state but concentrated in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.[iv]

Direct Brown Ancestors

• • 4^th Great-Grandmother – Mary Brown (___-Bef. Jan 1847) (Married William Price on 16 Jun 1788)[v]
  • 5^th Great-Grandfather – Hardy Brown (___-___)[vi]

Direct Brown Descendants

Hardy Brown married Martha Knight probably before 1768. My records have identified 225 direct-line descendants of Hardy and Martha.[vii] However, Mary Brown is the only known Brown surnamed descendant.

I need to research Mary Brown and Hardy Brown much more to better understand the Brown family of Martin County, North Carolina.

Sources:

• • Ancestry Surname Page: https://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts
  • Forebears Surnames Page: https://forebear       s.io/surnames
  • Ancestry – Don Taylor’s Howell-Darling tree on Ancestry, accessed 2 Jan 2020.

Endnotes

[i] For the meaning of the Brown surname I was able to take this paragraph from my previous posting: https://dontaylorgenealogy.com/2016/08/surname-saturday-brown.html/ that relates to my Browns. This article relates to my wife’s Brown ancestors.

[ii] Again, the Geographical locations of the Brown surname was taken from my previous article:

[iii] Web: Wikipedia – List of most common surnames in North America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_North_America

[iv] [iv] Ancestry.com; From the 1840 US Federal Census Date – https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Brown

[v] I have not researched Mary Brown, the wife of William Price, nor her father, Hardy Brown. Mary’s husband, William Price, was born 14 Feb 1762 in Martin County, North Carolina.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Internet: Don Taylor Genealogy – “Darling: The Ancestors of the Darling & Huber Family Line” https://dontaylorgenealogy.com/blog-page_3/.