The Brinkley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,695 people carried this name — #2,632 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,600 people counted. That is up 4% from 13,121 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Brinkley surname

"Brynca's wood or clearing", from Old English personal name *Brynca + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Brinkley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Brinkley’.

An early record he cites: Martin de Brenkelee, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 135 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

58 families named Brinkley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 250 people lived in those households, 4.3 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Brinkley, Brinklee, Brinkly. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 33
Virginia 24
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 231 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Brinkley in American newspapers,
1892–1912.

Newspaper page from The Holly Chieftain carrying the name Brinkley
The Holly Chieftain 1911-12-01
Newspaper page from The Lamar Register carrying the name Brinkley
The Lamar Register 1912-01-03
Newspaper page from Los Angeles Herald carrying the name Brinkley
Los Angeles Herald 1892-11-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 42,194 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Brinkley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

2,448 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brinkley. The most, 538, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 3.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 690
South Australia 525
New South Wales 458
Queensland 391
Victoria 298
ACT (Canberra) 47
Tasmania 24

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brinkley.

Who carried it

People named Brinkley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Brinkley
    John Brinkley 1763–1835 · astronomer
  • John Brinkley
    John Brinkley 1763–1835 · astronomer
  • John Brinkley
    John Brinkley 1765–1835 · astronomer
  • John Brinkley
    John Brinkley 1765–1835 · astronomer
  • John Brinkley
    John Brinkley 1766–1835 · astronomer
  • Richard Brinkley d. 1520 · Catholic priest

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Brinkley,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States757 records

757 records of the Brinkley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 502
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 177
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 45
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 10
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Thomas Brinkley

    Born 1947; from Nashville, Tennessee. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Nashville National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Marian M. Brinkley

    Born 1900 in Delaware. Enlisted 1946 in the Women's Army Corps at New York City; draftsman. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Delaware.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michl Brinkley

    Arrived at New York in 1848 aboard the Margaret from Limerick, aged 22; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 757 records for Brinkley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia63 records

63 records of the Brinkley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 27
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 10
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Eliza Brinkley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Westmoreland, sailing from Woolwich in 1836. Native of Hertfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Maria Brinkley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Persian, aged 23; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Leo Victor Brinkley

    Retired fireman of Ararat, Victoria; died 1995.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 63 records for Brinkley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Brinkley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Anne Brinkley

    Buried in 1851 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 30.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Brinkley

    Pest Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Brinkley

    Buried in 1851 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 30.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 9 records for Brinkley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Brinkley name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William George Brinkley

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record W. G. Brinkley

    Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Brinkley name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Victor Brinkley

    Married in 1945 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Mary Brinkley

    Baptised in 1647 in Delft.

    Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Brinkley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Brinkley is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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