Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
I personally prefer it on a boy (I always thought is was a boy's name), though it doesn't sound bad on a girl either, now that I think about it.
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Braith Anastasakis (Greek: Μπρέϊθ Αναστασάκης), better known as Braith Anasta, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a five-eighth and lock in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian and Greek international, Anasta played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with whom he won the 2004 NRL Premiership, the Sydney Roosters and the Wests Tigers. He also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin series.
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It has an unattractive sound.
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I love Braith for a girl more than a boy, especially when paired with a feminine middle name like Aurora. I don’t think it sounds masculine but not too bad for a boy. I still like it more on a girl.
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My husband's name is Braith and he was born in 1959 in Australia and according to him his parents made the name up from another name. His mother was descended from Scott/Irish grandparents so maybe the origin comes from Antrim in Northern Ireland or maybe from a name on a map somewhere in Australia.
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Seeing as Australia is an immigrant country - much like the United States of America in that regard - it is probably more likely that Braith actually comes from a surname. The first people who had Braith for a given name may have been named so in honour of a (distant) relative who had Braith (or something similar, like Braithwaite and Galbraith) for a surname.
The surname of Braith can be both Gaelic and German in origin. As a German surname, it is most common in Austria (with Germany second). A notable German bearer of the surname is the painter Anton Braith (1836-1905), who was born in Biberach an der Riss, a town in the south of Germany. The meaning of Braith as a German surname is still unknown to me at this time.
As a Gaelic surname, it originated in Scotland (in the council area of Midlothian, to be precise - which was once known as Edinburghshire). But it appears that nowadays, the surname is more common in England than Scotland for some reason. It may possibly have been derived from the Gaelic word Breathnach meaning "Briton", just like with the surname of Galbraith.
In the case(s) where Braith as a given name was given in honour of a relative with the surname of Braithwaite, it should be noted that Braithwaite is a northern English surname, not a Gaelic one. The surname is a locational surname that can refer to either of the places called Braithwaite in the English counties of Cumbria and South Yorkshire. This means that the very first bearers of the Braithwaite surname were born and/or had lived in one of these places. In a (select) few cases, the surname might even refer to Braithwaite Hall, a 17th-century manor house in the county of North Yorkshire. This might mean that the first bearers of the Braithwaite surname were either the owners or servants who lived in that house. In daily life, these people might originally have been referred to as (for example) "Mr. Smith from Braithwaite Hall", which over time transformed into simply "Mr. Braithwaite" (as this was obviously an easier and less roundabout way of referring to the people living and/or working in the house).
But in the end, you could say that it doesn't really matter to which one of the three geographic locations the Braithwaite surname originally referred to, as the etymological origin and meaning of each of these place names is the same. They consist of Old Norse 'breiðr' (or 'breithr') meaning "broad" and of Old Norse 'þveit' (or 'thweit') meaning "clearing". As such, the meaning of Braithwaite as a whole is "broad clearing". The fact that it is of Old Norse origin clearly points to (and is a remnant of) the early medieval times, where Vikings travelled to Britain and Ireland in order to settle, trade or raid.
So, in summary: if the given name Braith comes from the German surname of Braith, then its meaning is yet unknown at this moment in time. If it comes from the Gaelic surname of Braith (or Galbraith even!), then it might possibly mean "Briton". And if it comes from the surname of Braithwaite, then it means "broad".
With that said, I have no idea why people generally seem to be so inclined to think that the given name Braith is of Welsh origin, especially when the commenters (and other sources) have mentioned that they have never seen it used in Wales. In other words: as far as I can tell, there is no evidence of the name being of Welsh origin. So then my question is: exactly what evidence do the people (that claim the name is Welsh) have of it being Welsh, apart from the name *looking* like it *might* be Welsh and it just *happening* to somewhat resemble the Welsh word 'brith' meaning "speckled"? Until I see some compelling evidence for a Welsh origin of the name, I would say that the name being derived from one of the surnames mentioned earlier is a more likely explanation for the meaning and origin of the given name Braith.
Lastly, the best known bearer of Braith as a given name is the Australian professional rugby player Braith Anasta, who was born in 1982 as Braith Xiannikis Anastasakis to a Greek father and an Australian mother.
- http://babynamepondering.blogspot.de/2013/04/Braith.html (in English)
- http://forebears.io/surnames/Braith (in English; shows the distribution of the Braith surname around the world)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Braith (in English)
- https://www.houseofnames.com/Braith-family-crest (in English)
- http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Galbraith (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galbraith (in English)
- http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Braithwaite (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite_(surname) (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite (in English; this is about Braithwaite in Cumbria)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Doncaster#Places (in English; this is about Braithwaite as a borough of Doncaster in Yorkshire)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite_Hall (in English)
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brei%C3%B0r (in English)
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%BEveit (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_activity_in_the_British_Isles (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braith_Anasta (in English).
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The surname of Braith can be both Gaelic and German in origin. As a German surname, it is most common in Austria (with Germany second). A notable German bearer of the surname is the painter Anton Braith (1836-1905), who was born in Biberach an der Riss, a town in the south of Germany. The meaning of Braith as a German surname is still unknown to me at this time.
As a Gaelic surname, it originated in Scotland (in the council area of Midlothian, to be precise - which was once known as Edinburghshire). But it appears that nowadays, the surname is more common in England than Scotland for some reason. It may possibly have been derived from the Gaelic word Breathnach meaning "Briton", just like with the surname of Galbraith.
In the case(s) where Braith as a given name was given in honour of a relative with the surname of Braithwaite, it should be noted that Braithwaite is a northern English surname, not a Gaelic one. The surname is a locational surname that can refer to either of the places called Braithwaite in the English counties of Cumbria and South Yorkshire. This means that the very first bearers of the Braithwaite surname were born and/or had lived in one of these places. In a (select) few cases, the surname might even refer to Braithwaite Hall, a 17th-century manor house in the county of North Yorkshire. This might mean that the first bearers of the Braithwaite surname were either the owners or servants who lived in that house. In daily life, these people might originally have been referred to as (for example) "Mr. Smith from Braithwaite Hall", which over time transformed into simply "Mr. Braithwaite" (as this was obviously an easier and less roundabout way of referring to the people living and/or working in the house).
But in the end, you could say that it doesn't really matter to which one of the three geographic locations the Braithwaite surname originally referred to, as the etymological origin and meaning of each of these place names is the same. They consist of Old Norse 'breiðr' (or 'breithr') meaning "broad" and of Old Norse 'þveit' (or 'thweit') meaning "clearing". As such, the meaning of Braithwaite as a whole is "broad clearing". The fact that it is of Old Norse origin clearly points to (and is a remnant of) the early medieval times, where Vikings travelled to Britain and Ireland in order to settle, trade or raid.
So, in summary: if the given name Braith comes from the German surname of Braith, then its meaning is yet unknown at this moment in time. If it comes from the Gaelic surname of Braith (or Galbraith even!), then it might possibly mean "Briton". And if it comes from the surname of Braithwaite, then it means "broad".
With that said, I have no idea why people generally seem to be so inclined to think that the given name Braith is of Welsh origin, especially when the commenters (and other sources) have mentioned that they have never seen it used in Wales. In other words: as far as I can tell, there is no evidence of the name being of Welsh origin. So then my question is: exactly what evidence do the people (that claim the name is Welsh) have of it being Welsh, apart from the name *looking* like it *might* be Welsh and it just *happening* to somewhat resemble the Welsh word 'brith' meaning "speckled"? Until I see some compelling evidence for a Welsh origin of the name, I would say that the name being derived from one of the surnames mentioned earlier is a more likely explanation for the meaning and origin of the given name Braith.
Lastly, the best known bearer of Braith as a given name is the Australian professional rugby player Braith Anasta, who was born in 1982 as Braith Xiannikis Anastasakis to a Greek father and an Australian mother.
- http://babynamepondering.blogspot.de/2013/04/Braith.html (in English)
- http://forebears.io/surnames/Braith (in English; shows the distribution of the Braith surname around the world)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Braith (in English)
- https://www.houseofnames.com/Braith-family-crest (in English)
- http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Galbraith (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galbraith (in English)
- http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Braithwaite (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite_(surname) (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite (in English; this is about Braithwaite in Cumbria)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Doncaster#Places (in English; this is about Braithwaite as a borough of Doncaster in Yorkshire)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite_Hall (in English)
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brei%C3%B0r (in English)
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%BEveit (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_activity_in_the_British_Isles (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braith_Anasta (in English).
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Braith is a Welsh name mostly used for girls. Its meaning is multicolored.
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The Welsh word for speckled is 'brith' not 'Braith'. Braith could perhaps be a deviation from the word brith to make it sound similar to the existing (English) surname Braithwaite - which means 'broad clearing'.
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This isn't used in Wales, and it isn't Welsh for 'speckled' - that's 'brith'. It's mostly used in Australia, where it's pronounced Brayth, not briyth. Just a guess, but I'm wondering if it's from the same source as Braith (pronounced brayth) in the surname Braithwaite - apparently from Old Norse 'breithr' meaning broad. [noted -ed]
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Really beautiful name (and much more feminine than masculine, to me). It reminds me slightly of Blythe, except I like Braith better. However, I most like Braithwen (pronounced BRIEDH-wen), a concoction I made up recently but for all I know could be actually used in Wales.
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Pronounced "brieth".
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I guess this could be pretty cute on a freckled kid.
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