The Browning surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 43,329 people carried this name — #797 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,810 people counted. That is up 2% from 42,642 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Browning surname

From Old English Brūning, a patronymic for a person nicknamed Brūn (“brown”) (see Brown). For the first half-century of their manufacturer, the majority of semi-automatic handguns in Europe were designed by John M. Browning.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Browning» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Browning’.

An early record he cites: Henry Brunwyne, Suffolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Browning and Brunwin.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 140 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 23 people named Browning live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 12
Buenos Aires Province 11

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

20 people named Browning live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 6
Basel-Stadt 4
Solothurn 4
St. Gallen 3
Zurich 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Browning was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Bedfordshire: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Bedfordshire 20
Gloucestershire 20
Northamptonshire 15

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Browning was recorded 11 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1788th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 14. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

80 families named Browning, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 482 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Rhode Island 22
North Carolina 17
Maryland 13
Massachusetts 11
Virginia 5
Vermont 3
South Carolina 3
Connecticut 2
New York 2
Pennsylvania 2

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

Browning in American newspapers,
1898–1918.

Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Tribune carrying the name Browning
The Salt Lake Tribune 1911-07-16
Newspaper page from The Ogden Standard carrying the name Browning
The Ogden Standard 1918-09-21
Newspaper page from The News & Observer carrying the name Browning
The News & Observer 1898-03-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Browning in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

49,881 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Browning. The most, 8,043, date from the 1930s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 20,876
Victoria 12,138
Queensland 6,200
South Australia 4,080
Western Australia 3,696
Tasmania 2,068
ACT (Canberra) 675
Northern Territory 66

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

Who carried it

People named Browning,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Browning d. 1612 · cleric
  • John Browning d. 1648
  • Jim Browning d. 1983
  • Anne Browning d. 1665
  • Jeffery Browning d. 1845
  • Jeffrey Browning d. 1942

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Browning,
in the records of 7 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 States2,827 records

2,827 records of the Browning name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,478
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 499
  • Other U.S. records 850
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Joseph D. Browning

    Born 1932; from Mobile County, Alabama. U.S. Army, field artillery cannoneer; killed in action 1950 in South Korea. Buried at Mobile National Cemetery, Alabama.

    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 Harold H. Browning

    Born 1921 in Texas. Enlisted 1940 at Tyler; farm hand from Smith County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Memorial Funeral Home & Cemetery, Tyler, Texas.

    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 George Browning

    Arrived at New York in 1836 aboard the Admittance from London, aged 21; druggist. From Kent, England; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 2,827 records for Browning 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia1,277 records

1,277 records of the Browning name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 587
  • Tasmanian Names Index 303
  • Other Australian records 387
  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 Nicholas Browning

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Surrey, sailing from Downs in 1832. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1841. Married 1841 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Browning

    Died 1924 in Macquarie Plains, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1925.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Annie Maria Browning

    Born 1874 in Hamilton, Tasmania. Married 1894 in Hamilton, Tasmania, aged 20.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,277 records for Browning in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada159 records

159 records of the Browning name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 79
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 30
  • Other Canadian records 50
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Geo Browning

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the N. Scotian, bound for Aurora, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ian Waterston Browning

    Died 1972, aged 58; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Treasa Bell Browning

    Died 1925 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 159 records for Browning in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands58 records

58 records of the Browning name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 41
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 16
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Adriana Browning

    Married in 1847 in Vlissingen; of private means. Died 1897 in Utrecht, aged 74.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record David Forbes Browning

    Married in 1851 in Rotterdam. Died 1892 in Willemsoord (Steenwijkerwold), aged 72.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Susanna Johanna Browning

    Born 1856 in Delfshaven. Died 1875 in Beekbergen, aged 18.

    Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 58 records for Browning in the Netherlands.

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).

United Kingdom38 records

38 records of the Browning name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 22
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 10
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes W. B. Browning

    Buried in 1959 at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 80.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Kate Browning

    Will proved in 1895; of Bangor, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Browning

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

Showing 3 of 38 records for Browning 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. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the Browning name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 24
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas William Browning

    Died 1965, aged 89; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Browning

    Died 1940, aged 58; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ethel Browning

    Died 1963, aged 73; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Browning in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France4 records

4 records of the Browning name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean Daniel Alban Browning

    Born 1942 in the United States; died 1998 in Évry (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Lawrence Peter Reginald Browning

    Born 1915 in Fort Matara (Sri Lanka); died 1996 in Éperlecques (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Browning in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Browning.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Browning 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 Browning volume
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