In all the Teutonic dialects brand signifies to burn; also a sword, either from its brandishing, or from its glittering brightness. Brant, a hill; steep, high; Welsh, Bryn.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

BRAND. O. Norse hranclr, a sword, whence the 0. Eng. brand, with the same meaning. As a personal name it occurs in the genealogy of the Northumbrian kings from Woden. It was a very common old Scandinavian name, and it is still used in Iceland. Ferguson. Brand is found in Domesd. as a previous tenant. Mr. Denham observes, that it is rather singular that the ordinarj' synonjm for a sword should be brand. The name of the weapon taken from King Bucar by the Cid was Tkona, or the fire-brand. And he adds that "many swords were flamboyant; hence the word brand." Slogans of N. of Eng. p. xvii.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.