320 Global BRUNSKILL Family Members

BRUNSKILL Family History

This unusual surname, which at first glance appears to be of "Continental" origin, is in fact of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse origin, and it is a topographical name for a dweller at a brown coloured stream, or a brown hill. It derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "brun" meaning "brown", and either the Old Norse "skjallr" meaning "a strong stream" or "hyll", a hill or mount. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names in the small communities of the Middle Ages.