Brito
A surname of ethnic origin meaning “the Breton” or “man from Brittany.”
The #1,711 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,697 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Brito is a medieval ethnic surname formed from Latin Britto/Britto, used for someone from Brittany (Latin Britannia minor), the region in northwestern France. In Norman and Anglo-Norman records it appears simply as an identifier meaning “a Breton.” The same form later passed into hereditary surname use.
History
The name shows up frequently in Domesday-era and other Norman records, reflecting the strong Breton presence in England after the Conquest. Lower notes several medieval bearers, including Hugh Brito, and points out that the surname was common among Norman landholders. As a family name it later became fixed and has survived in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese-speaking areas, often through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Medieval sources record several Norman nobles called Brito, and one well-known bearer, Hugh Brito, was associated with the assassination of Thomas Becket.
From the historical record
“common in France. Sec Brett. BRETT. Brito, a native of Brittany. The parish of Samford Bi-ett, co. Somerset, was the lordship of Hugh Brito, one of the assassins of Thomas a Becket. Domesday Book abounds with Brito as a surname. No less than seven persons bearing it Avere”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom