Broughton Family Tree-History of the Name

The Origin of the Broughton Name

The Castle

Coat of Arms

Royalty?

People first used names to tell where they were from or to whom they were related. For example, the name Broughton is originally derived from two Saxon words: "Broc" which means brook or broken land, and "Tun" which means town or dwelling. So, the first people to use the name "Broctun" probably lived in a town or dwelling near a brook.

"In King Etholred's charter to the monastery of Shaftesbury in England, 1001 AD., Elfwig's boundaries at Broctun are mentioned. The doomsday book of William the Conqueror, 1086 AD., describes thirty-four manors of Broctun, variously latinized by the clerks of the records to Brochthon, Brocton, Brotton, Broton, Brogton, and Broughton, perhaps according to the pronunciation peculiar to the localities where the manors were situated. Later, the spelling of Broughton (pronounced Braw'-ton) seems to have been generally adopted....

"With few exceptions, all the families that have borne the name in England are traced to the counties in Chester and Buckingham....

"The name Broughton continued prominent among the knights and sheriffs of England for three or four centuries."

In America, there are variations in the spelling of the Broughton name, apparently the result of different interpretations of handwriting. For instance, the name appears as "Braughton" on my parent's marriage license and my own birth certificate. The reason, according to my parents, is military officials misread my father's handwriting when he enlisted in the army, and he never corrected it, choosing instead to adopt the "a" spelling. That is until his mother found out! He now uses the spelling, Broughton, which is the way it appears on his birth certificate.

So, for the purposes of this website, I will obey my grandmother's wish and use the "o" spelling, since it does appear to be the primary version accepted today. I will however make note of alternative spellings whenever necessary. When referring to specific documents, the name will be spelled as it is found on the document.

I would like to suggest for anyone researching the Broughton name to always look for the name with both an "o" and an "a"...just in case!