Browning Family Culture consists of many things that are simply relevant to the name. Occasionally we go looking for anything Browning or chase down one specific interest then post it here.
Browning Family Name History
The English surname Browning is patronymic in origin, being one of those surnames based on the first name of a father. In this case the name is derived from the personal name Brun, which, with it’s variant for Bruning, was not uncommon after the Conquest, surviving in use until the fourteenth century. The name comes from the Old Saxon and Old English “Brun” , and Middle English “Braun”, a name which perhaps applied to one whose skin was burnished from the sun. The German personal name Bruno, derived from the Old High German “Brun”, remains popular to this day.
There are many references to the name in early sources – the earliest in 1086, when the name appears as a personal name. Bruning ‘ de Cestretona is mentioned in the Inquisita Eliensis, Cambrideshire. The next reference to the name occurs in 1283, in the Staffordshire Assizes, when Robertus filius Bruning is listed. Further records of the name occur in the exchequer Lay Subsidy lists for Somerset in 1327, when the name of Brounyng le Fox is entered therin. One Agnes Brounyng is mentioned in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire, 1379. The name first appeared in the New World in August, 1635, when Joseph Browning sailed to Virginia aboard the “Safety”. Two famous bearers of the name were poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Browning Family Crest
BLAZON OF ARMS : Barry wavy of six argent and azure.
TRANSLATION : Argent (white) denotes integrity, gratitude and purity. Azure (blue) signifies loyalty and pity.
CREST : A dexter arm from the elbow issuing from a cloud in the sinister side, holding the hand above a serpent’s head, erect from the middle and looking towards the shoulder proper.
MOTTO : Esse quam videri.
TRANSLATION : To be, rather than to seem.
ORIGIN : England
We are not the Browning Arms Company
We are likely not related but it’s cool just the same. I am not a hunter or ex-military nor do I own any weapons at all. The Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855-1926) and Matthew Sandefur Browning (1859-1923). The company offers a wide variety of firearms including shotguns, rifles, and pistols. Other products include fishing rods and reels, gun safes, sport bows, knives and bicycles.
Initially the company was founded to market the sporting (non-military) designs of John Browning, one of the world’s most important and prolific firearms inventors. Nearly all of John Browning’s innovative designs have been manufactured under license by other companies, including Winchester, Colt, Remington, FN Herstal, and Miroku. Browning is currently a fully owned subsidiary of FN Herstal.
Browning Arms Company is best known for the A-Bolt and X-Bolt bolt-action rifles, the BAR semi-automatic rifle, the BPS pump-action shotgun, the Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun, and the Hi-Power pistol. Browning also manufactures a set of trap shotguns such as the 725 Pro Trap, Citori CX series and the Cynergy series.
On the Web
- The Browning – A band of the Metal/Electronica genre.
- Browning – Firearms, camping and hunting equipment.
- The Browning School – A K-12 college preparatory school for boys in NYC.
