Brew One Name Study and Genealogy Website

Welcome to the One Name Study of the surname 'Brew'. This site provides some 360 free on-line searchable databases, which contain information designed to assist those researching 'Brew' and associated surnames in their family history.

The surname derives from the Isle of Man, a small 50x20 km (32x13 mile) island located in the Irish Sea, roughly half way between England and Ireland. The name appears in the Island's records as early as 1406, originally in the forms 'McVriw', 'McBrewe' and 'McBrew'. The father of all Brews is widely accepted to be Muldonny McVriw, 'one of the eldest and worthiest of all the Land of Man'.

Several changes to the name occurred over the ensuing 200 years, the most notable being the disappearance of the prefix 'Mc', but instances of phonetic spellings, such as 'Broow' and 'Brow' have also been recorded. The first documented evidence of the form 'Brew', as we know it today, appeared in 1635 and it has maintained this form ever since; the names Brewer and Brewster are not related.

The surname has also been prevalent in areas of Ireland and England for centuries, but as a result of migration, chiefly to North America and Australasia, it is today widely spread throughout the world. This site looks at the name's origins and history on the Isle of Man and examines it's existence in Africa, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, the United States, and Wales.

Some 360 free databases are provided on this site to aide your research. Resources include censuses, military service records, rolls of honour, indexes of births, marriages, deaths, burials and wills, newspaper reports, directories, parish records, cemetery records, the I.G.I., social security records, shipping and immigration records, court and criminal records, family trees, and many other sources.

This collection has been made possible through countless hours of personal research and careful transcriptions by many individuals around the world. Each database gives them the credit they deserve for their hard work.

A part of this site is also the history of my own Brew family which has it's earliest traceable roots in Wales. Branches of the family now live in Australia, England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the United States.

Disclaimer: The authors and contributors of documents on this website make no claim to the accuracy of content. Documents are provided "as is" without express or implied warranty of fitness for any particular purpose. In no event shall the authors or contributors be liable for special, collateral, incidental, or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of application or use of these documents or of their content.