The Bronson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,229 people carried this name — #3,215 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,200 people counted. That is up 2% from 11,007 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Bronson surname

A surname transferred from the given name.

From Middle English Brun (“a man named Brown's”) + son.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, Bronson was counted together with Brownson: 150 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 837 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Brownson, Bronsan, Bronson, Bronston, Brounsen, Brounson, Brunson. 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

Connecticut 101
Vermont 15
South Carolina 13
New York 12
Massachusetts 6
Pennsylvania 2
New Hampshire 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

Bronson in American newspapers,
1880–1923.

Newspaper page from The Wolf Point Herald carrying the name Bronson
The Wolf Point Herald 1923-10-11
Newspaper page from The St. Mary Banner carrying the name Bronson
The St. Mary Banner 1907-09-28
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Bronson
Daily Kennebec Journal 1880-07-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,396 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bronson in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

2,538 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bronson. The most, 765, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 813
South Australia 622
Victoria 445
Western Australia 276
Queensland 267
Tasmania 85
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Bronson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Alvin Bronson
    Alvin Bronson 1783–1881 · politician
  • Greene C. Bronson
    Greene C. Bronson 1789–1863 · judge
  • Ethel Julia Bronson d. 1924
  • Titus Bronson 1788–1853
  • Silas Bronson 1788–1867
  • Oliver Bronson 1799–1875 · physician

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 Bronson,
in the records of 4 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 States997 records

997 records of the Bronson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 333
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 196
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 185
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 114
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 107
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 47
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • Sacramento County historic burials 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record David G. Bronson

    Born 1919 in Michigan. Enlisted 1941 at Kalamazoo; stenographer from Kalamazoo County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Carl Bronson

    Born 1944; from Fayetteville, North Carolina. U.S. Army, light vehicle driver; killed in action 1965 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Marie Bronson

    Arrived at New York in 1880 aboard the Amerique from Havre, aged 2; farmer. From Switzerland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 997 records for Bronson in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia13 records

13 records of the Bronson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 10
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record McHl Bronson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Phoenix, aged 25; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Frederick Bronson

    Arrived in Queensland in 1928 aboard the Mamilius, aged 17.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Lewis Ross Bronson

    Rubber worker of Mount Waverley, Victoria; died 1979.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Bronson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

Canada12 records

12 records of the Bronson name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Myrian Maizelle Bronson

    Died 1943, aged 19; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Howard Logan Bronson

    Died 1968 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. 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 Charles Bronson

    Died in service in 1943.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 12 records for Bronson in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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 Bronson name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Aelxander Bronson

    Buried in 1723 in Bergen op Zoom.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jan Bronson

    Buried in 1654 in Heusden.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bronson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bronson 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.

See the Bronson volume
Scroll to Top