Does anyone know if the surname BRYDSON and BRYSON are linked?

Answer 1

Hey Lexilicious,

The Swyrich.com sites says Bryson is either Irish or Scottish. They also say the Brydson is Scottish, only.

BRYDSON
Origin: Scottish

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacBride, McBride, Macbryde, Macbraid, MacBridan, McKillbride, McGillbride, Macilvride, Mackelbreed, McBryde, Bridson, Brydson, Kilbride, Gilbride,MacBridan, MacIlvride, MacBraid and many more.

First found in Arran, an island in North Ayrshire in the Firth of Clyde, where the name has long existed, although the name's earliest recorded roots are from County Donegal in Ireland. According to legend, both the Scottish and the Irish branches are descended from the son of the servant of (St.) Brigit, the virgin Abbess of Kildare who died 525 A.D.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Ant Macbride, who arrived in Georgia in 1734; Alexander McBride, who was recorded in Charlestown, SC in 1767; Anthony McBride, who was listed as a Scottish settler in Ontario, Canada in 1821.

Look at the site for yourself and put in Bryson. Switch between the Irish and Scottish.

From this evidence you could conclude that they are not linked directly, at least not by a mis-spelling. There may be a family tie, in the past where a Brydson married a Bryson.

Answer 2

Brydson
This is a rare surname of Manx (Isle of Man) origins. Out of the forty thousand or so British surnames, only about only about eighty are truly
Manx, and this one, recorded as Bridson, Brydson and sometimes Bryson, are amongst the most prominent. The surname originates from the
village of Malew, and it is said the derivation is from the 7th century Manx Gaelic 'Mac Giolla Bhrighde', which translates as 'the son of the
follower of Bridget'. St Bridget was the Abbess of Kildare in Ireland, and is believed to have died there in the year 525 a.d. She is also the
patron saint of blacksmiths and poets, an unusual diversity of interests and occupations which is quite remarkable even for a saint! However as
The Reverend Thomas Brydson, vicar of Kilmalcom, Renfrewshire, Scotland, (1806 - 1855), was a famous poet of the early Victorian period,
perhaps St Bridget was correctly chosen. Presumably the first 'Bridsons/Brydsons' entered the Isle of Man as missionaries from Ireland and
specifically Kildare, however this is not proven. The first recordings according to the book of 'Surnames of the Manks', the latter being
apparently the 'correct' spelling, is in 950 a.d. as 'Melbrigdi', presumably a baptismal name, and barely recognizable. The surnames are, as
was common in small communities, remote from mainland influence, much later. Examples of the surname recording taken from authentic church
registers on the Isle of Man include Ellin Bridson of Malew, who married John Quaile on February 3rd 1667, and Ann Bridson, who married
William Kissack, also at Malew, on December 4th 1792. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of
Alexander McGilbrid, which was dated
1511, in the registers of the Isle of Man, during the reign of
King Henry V111, known as 'Bluff King Hal', 1510 - 1547