Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 Breier Coat of Arms / Breier Family CrestThis surname BREIRE is of two-fold origin. It was an English topographic name for someone who lived by a briar-patch, and was derived from the Old English word BROER. Local names usually denoted where the original bearer of the name held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. It was also a nickname for a prickly, difficult individual. Surnames having a derivation from nicknames form the broadest and most miscellaneous class of surnames, encompassing many different types of origin. The most typical classes refer adjectivally to the general physical aspect of the person concerned, or to his character. Many nicknames refer to a man's size or height, while others make reference to a favoured article of clothing or style of dress. Many surnames derived from the names of animals and birds. In the Middle Ages ideas were held about the characters of other living creatures, based on observation, and these associations were reflected and reinforced by large bodies of folk tales featuring animals behaving as humans. This is a well known Yorkshire surname. The earliest of the name on record appears to be John in le Breres, who was documented in Northumberland in the year 1279. Willelmus del Breres of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, and Ricardus Brere appears in the same document. Later instances of the name mention Robert Sharp and Sarah Brears, who were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1759, and John Betteley and Elizabeth Brear were wed at the same church in 1780. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. |
