Brown
John Brown ca1794-1879
Emma Eliza Brown 1826-1895
Brown
meaning and origins
It’s pretty obvious really what it means - it’s one of those descriptive names, referring to brown complexion, brown hair, brown clothes. One would think that brown complexion would have been the predominant reason, because surely most people have brown hair and wore brown clothes!
variations
Browne, Braun
distribution in England and Wales
The fifth most popular name in the United Kingdom! No wonder it’s so hard to trace the line back!
Enfield, Hatfield Broad Oak
Another truncated branch at the moment - well with a name like John Brown it’s very hard to get anywhere. But maybe when more records become available we shall be able to progress a little more.
Although they lived in what was then rural, Enfield, they were not farmers or agricultural labourers, but tradesmen. John was a shoemaker, and Emma married a bricklayer. So they were not quite on the bottom rung of village life. Nevertheless life would not have been easy.
Do email us if you know anything about them.
