Brenton

Brenton is the transferred use of an old English surname derived from a place name (given to a few different medieval villages variously recorded as Brinton, Brington or Bryneton). The name ultimately means “Bryni’s homestead” from Bryni – an ancient Anglo-Saxon personal name originating from the Olde English word “bryne” meaning “fire, flame” – and “tun” which is Olde English for “farm, homestead, town”. Brenton therefore means “fire town”. When surnames were developed in Britain in the later Middle Ages, people were assigned last names derived from either their father’s name (Jackson), their occupation or trade (Mason), a nickname (Corbin) or the town from which they hailed (Brenton). The first recorded spelling of this surname appeared in the late 13th century and was rendered as “de Brinton”. Due to the high rate of illiteracy in medieval England, coupled by the radically different dialects spoken from region to region, the sounds and spellings of names evolved significantly over time. As a given name, Brenton fits the trend that favors last names as first names. Brent is an obvious nickname.