Origin of Broderick

This interesting surname of Irish origin is derived from the Gaelic O' Bruadair, "descendant of Bruadar", from an old Norse forename. Several distinct septs of O' Bruadair existed in early medieval times of which two may be mentioned here since their descendants are still found in or near their original territory. One was located in County Cork, in the barony of Barrymore, to which the poet David O' Bruadair belonged. It was presumably a branch of this sept which settled as a Munster family in Iiverk (Ossory) in Ireland, where they were well established in the 17th Century.

In county Limerick, where the name is now quite numerous, they are registered as Brouder and Broderick in about equal numbers. The other sept belonged to County Galway, the most famous of whom was Fr. Anthony O' Bruadair, the martyr. The best known of all the Broderick families in Ireland is that of which Lord Midleton is the head. The first of these to come to Ireland was an Englishman, Sir Alan Broderick, who was appointed Surveyor General of Ireland 1660. A Coat of Arms granted to the Broderick family is a shield divided per pale red and black, on a fess between three gold griffins' heads as many lozenges ermines. A black demi-greyhound holding in the paws a red dart feathered silver, is on the Crest. The motto "A cuspide corono", translates as "By a spear a crown". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Cristopher Broderick, married Anne Joones, which was dated 1561, Christchurch, Greyfriars, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.