The Brownlee surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,344 people carried this name — #3,186 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,000 people counted. That is up 5% from 10,839 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Brownlee surname

Habitational surname from Old English brūn (“brown”) + lēah (“clearing in a forest”).

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 19 births for the Brownlee name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Armagh.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 18
Leinster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Brownlee was recorded 12 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1665th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 23. 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 print

Brownlee in American newspapers,
1838–1908.

Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Brownlee
Evening Star 1908-05-17
Newspaper page from Morning Herald carrying the name Brownlee
Morning Herald 1838-04-28
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Brownlee
New-york Tribune 1901-08-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 42,627 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Brownlee in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1970s.

9,211 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brownlee. The most, 3,341, 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 Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4,025
Victoria 2,345
Queensland 1,449
Western Australia 544
South Australia 419
Tasmania 359
ACT (Canberra) 44
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Brownlee,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles Brownlee
    Charles Brownlee 1821–1890 · politician
  • William Brownlee
    William Brownlee 1836–1914 · politician
  • Kate Brownlee Sherwood
    Kate Brownlee Sherwood 1841–1914 · writer
  • Frank Brownlee
    Frank Brownlee 1874–1948 · actor
  • Frank Brownlee
    Frank Brownlee 1876–1952 · writer
  • Jane Brownlee d. 1855

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 Brownlee,
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 States834 records

834 records of the Brownlee name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 385
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 169
  • Other U.S. records 280
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Leon Brownlee

    Born 1947; from El Paso, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 David C. Brownlee

    Born 1922 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort McPherson Atlanta; farm hand from Early County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1993, buried at Andersonville National Cemetery, Georgia.

    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 Joseph Brownlee

    Arrived at New York in 1835 aboard the Marengo from Liverpool, aged 21; laborer. From Lancashire, England.

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

Showing 3 of 834 records for Brownlee in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia203 records

203 records of the Brownlee name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 99
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 43
  • Other Australian records 61
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Brownlee

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1856. Married 1856 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 59.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 James Brownlee

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mangles, arriving 1828; ticket of leave 1833. Native of Armagh.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Richard Brownlee

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Brooksby, aged 24; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 203 records for Brownlee in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); 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).

Canada51 records

51 records of the Brownlee name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 13
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 12
  • Other Canadian records 26
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Brownlee

    Died 1958, aged 58; buried at Transcona 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 Charles Albert Brownlee

    Died 1954 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 Edith Mary Brownlee

    Died in service in 1943.

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

Showing 3 of 51 records for Brownlee 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

New Zealand44 records

44 records of the Brownlee name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 17
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 14
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 13
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Margaret Brownlee

    Buried in 1951 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 65.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Brownlee

    Died 1894, aged 46; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Evelyn Ada Brownlee

    Died 1998, aged 84; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 44 records for Brownlee in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough 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).

United Kingdom22 records

22 records of the Brownlee name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 8
  • Stirling Council burial records 8
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Brownlee

    Buried in 1946 at Snowdon Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 67.

    Stirling Council. 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 H. C. Brownlee

    Bombardier, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    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 Margaret Brownlee

    Died 1994, aged 72; buried at Aberfoyle Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 22 records for Brownlee in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Brownlee.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Brownlee 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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