BREWER. 1. Bruyere, Fr., a heath. This was a frequent name in Norman times. The principal English family were settled in Devonshire at the time of the Domesd. survey, and founded Tor Ablic}'. In after times they impressed their name upon Teign Brewer and Buckland Brewer in that county, as also upon Temple Brewer, co. Lincoln. Among tliose of the name in France, Thibaut de la Bruyere, the crusader, stands conspicuous. The orthography is much varied, the principal forms in the H.E. being Brewer, Brewere, de Bruario, de la Briiere, Brywer, de Brueris. 2. The occupation. In the H.E. it occurs in the Latin and Norman-French forms of Braciator and Le Bi-acer. The business of brewing was formerly carried on by women, and hence the A-Sax. feminine termination stjv, in Brewster. In the H.R. we find the name of one Clarissa la Braceresse. In the XV. cent, the name as well as the occupation was often written Berebrewer.

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