Brill Family History

Brill Surname Meaning

English: habitational name from Brill in Buckinghamshire named with the Celtic element bre- ‘hill’ + Old English hyll also ‘hill’. North German and Dutch: habitational name from any of various places in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands named Brill from Middle Low German brūl bröil ‘wet lowland’. Compare German Bruehl.

German: from Middle Low German brill ‘eyeglasses’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spectacles or perhaps a nickname for someone who wore them.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name most likely Yude (Juda) Leyb.

Many Ashkenazic surnames beginning with Br- and Bar- are of acronymic origin but without detailed evidence from family histories it is impossible to specify the personal name from which each is derived.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022

Similar surnames: Grill, Briel, Gill, Bill, Brin, Kroll, Still, Prill, Groll, Brief

298,000 record(s) for Brill

78K	Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
12K	Military Records
9K	Immigration Records
58K	Census and Voter Lists
139K	Member Trees

Where is the Brill family from?

You can see how Brill families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Brill family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Brill families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 33 Brill families living in Ohio. This was about 36% of all the recorded Brill's in USA. Ohio had the highest population of Brill families in 1840.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Brill surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Brill ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Brill. 11% of Brill men worked as a Laborer and 10% of Brill women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Brill were Clerk and Housewife.

We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

Laborer

11%

Farmer

11%

Salesman

9%

Clerk

5%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

Stenographer

10%

Clerk

7%

Housekeeper

6%

Housewife

6%

What Brill family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 58K census records available for the last name Brill. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Brill census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Passenger List

There are 9K immigration records available for the last name Brill. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

Military Records

There are 12K military records available for the last name Brill. For the veterans among your Brill ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

What is the average Brill lifespan?

Between 1941 and 2004, in the United States, Brill life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1941, and highest in 1998. The average life expectancy for Brill in 1941 was 36, and 76 in 2004.

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Brill ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.