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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Polish, Slovenian, and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) : from Slavic brus ‘whetstone’, presumably a metonymic occupational name for someone who honed or sharpened blades; possibly also a nickname for a clumsy or coarse fellow.
  • Slovenian : from an old dialect short form of the personal name Ambrož (see Ambrose).
  • French : topographic name for someone living on a heath, from Occitan brusc ‘heather’.

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