Bromwich

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by various people, most often as a surname in Britain and elsewhere
2. An English surname carried by many people across the English-speaking world, usually passed down through families
3. A common surname of English origin, used as the family name of individuals in Britain, Australia and North America

Etymology: Bromwich is a surname taken from a place rather than a person's trade or father's name. It comes from the town of West Bromwich in the West Midlands of England, and the name of that town is built from two Old English elements: "brōm", meaning brushwood or broom, and "wīc", meaning village or settlement. A "wīc" in this sense was often a farm or dwelling, so the place-name describes a settlement where broom or brushwood grew. People who moved away from West Bromwich, or who were known as coming from it, were sometimes called "de Bromwich" or "of Bromwich" in medieval records, and the family name developed from that habitational form. Surnames like this one were a common way for English families to fix their origin, so many people carrying the name today trace their line back to that corner of the Midlands.