Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • English, Scottish, and northern Irish : probably a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or sold coarse woolen cloth, Middle English burel or borel (from Old French burel, a diminutive of b(o)ure); the same word was used adjectively in the sense ‘reddish brown’ and may have been applied as a nickname referring to dress or complexion. Compare Borel.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe