Breckenridge is a locational

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

, referring to a person from a place named Breckenridge, and other phonetic spellings, e.g. Breckonridge, Breakenridge, Brackenridge, et al. Such names as the aforementioned are anglicizations of the Scottish place name "Brackenrig". There are several villages in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

named "Brackenrig", including in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and others. "Brackenrig" referred to plowed fields with ridges and ferns, prolific in this area. The prefix derives from ''braken'' (northern

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

, meaning "

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

", itself derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''brækni''). The suffix derives from ''rigg'' (meaning "

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

", from the Old Norse ''hryggr''). Early spellings had several variations including Brecenrigg, Brecenrig, Breckinrigg, Breconrig, Breconnrigg; and these evolved to Brackenridge, Breakenridge, Breakinridge, Breckenridge, Breccinridge, Breckenridge, and others. As people moved, the surname spread to England and Ireland, becoming a common

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

surname as well. At the time of the British Census of 1881, Retrieved 25 January 2014 the frequency of the surname Breckenridge was highest in

(66.2 times the British average), followed by

Haddingtonshire East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

Edinburghshire Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh ...

and

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...

. People with the surname include: *

Alexandra Breckenridge Alexandra Hetherington Breckenridge is an American actress. She began her career with supporting roles in the teen comedy films ''Big Fat Liar'' (2002) and ''She's the Man'' (2006). She later played reporter Willa McPherson in the FX series ''D ...

(born 1982), American film and television actress *

Beverly Breckenridge Beverly Breckenridge is a musician, composer, and actress from Toronto, Ontario. She played bass for the bands Fifth Column and Phono-Comb. In 1986, Beverly Breckenridge joined the post-punk band Fifth Column. Beverly's first appearance on film ...

(b.?), Canadian musician * Donald Breckenridge (1932–2005), American hotel chain founder and president *

Eddie Breckenridge Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school. Early in their career, the band was known ...

(born 1979), American bassist with Thrice; younger brother of Riley Breckenridge *

Hugh Henry Breckenridge Hugh Henry Breckenridge (1870-1937), was an American painter and art instructor who championed the artistic movements from impressionism to modernism. Breckenridge taught for more than forty years at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, becomin ...

(1870–1937), American painter *

Jody A. Breckenridge Jody A. Breckenridge is a former commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Area. The area of operations for this command encompasses over throughout the Pacific Basin to the Far East. Vice Admiral Breckenridge oversaw the operation of units pe ...

(b.?), American Coast Guard Rear Admiral *

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

(1821–1875), Vice President of the United States, Confederate Army general *

Laura Breckenridge Laura Marie Breckenridge (born August 22, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for her role as college student Rose Sorelli on the television series ''Related''. Life and career Breckenridge was born August 22, 1983 in Flourtown, Pennsylva ...

(born 1983), American actress *

Lisa Breckenridge Lisa Breckenridge is a former American television personality and news anchor. She currently runs a blog called Happily Lisa. Biography Breckenridge was born in Lodi, California. She worked at KYMA-DT (1988-2020), KYMA-DT in Yuma, Arizona, the ...

(born 1965), American TV reporter * Michael Breckenridge (b.?), American actor, musician, humorist and artist *

Patricia Breckenridge Patricia Breckenridge (born October 14, 1953) is a Judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri. She was first appointed to the Court in 2007 and served as chief justice from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2017. Breckenridge was the fourth woman to be appoi ...

(born 1953), American Judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri *

Riley Breckenridge James Riley Breckenridge (born January 5, 1975) is the drummer for the band Thrice. He plays Q Drums, and uses Vic Firth drumsticks, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, with Drum Workshop hardware and pedals. Biography The older brother of Thrice ...

(born 1975), American drummer with Thrice; older brother of Eddie Breckenridge * Thomas Breckenridge (1865–3 May 1898), Scottish footballer

References

{{surname English-language surnames Surnames of Lowland Scottish origin

See also

References