Brickey
A Manx surname most likely tied to St. Bridget, with forms that appear to preserve a local-name or devotional nickname tradition.
The #9,535 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,568 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical Manx material links Brickey with forms of Breeshy, a name explained as meaning “Bridget’s cell” or, more broadly, something associated with St. Bridget. That points to a Gaelic religious place-name or devotional byname rather than a straightforward occupational surname. The exact pathway into the modern surname form is not fully secure, so the spelling Brickey is best treated as an Anglicized Manx development.
History
The surviving excerpt shows Brickey as one of several Manx forms associated with St. Bridget, alongside Breeshy and Vreeshy. In surname use, such forms often arose from local place-names, chapel names, or bynames connected with religious dedication. The name is now uncommon, but it fits the broader pattern of Manx surnames preserving old Gaelic and ecclesiastical elements.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Manx scholar cited in the excerpt treats Brickey as just one of several local spellings connected with St. Bridget, showing how flexible surname forms could be in Manx tradition.
From the historical record
“St. Bridget has seven, under the various forms of Breeshy, Vreeshy, and even Brickey and Bragga. The keeill Vreeshey on Ballaharry farm, near Crosby, has walls about four feet high, built of stones without mortar. The treen of Kilmartin, and the adjoining farm of Ballakilmartin, perhaps derive their names from St.…”
— The Surnames & Place-Names of the Isle of Man