Tracing the Bret Family Name

Genealogists group Bret with Brett. The name is usually explained as “A Breton”. Bret drops the “t” of Brett, a simplification that clerks often made.

Spanish register data show 211 residents carrying Bret as first surname, and 238 as second surname. French birth records list 6,562 children named Bret between 1891 and 2000. There were 354 such births in the 1890s and 564 in the 1990s.

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the Brett surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon. Want more than a summary? See the Bret family name pack.