This most interesting and rare name is locational in origin for a person from "Bresse" in France or "Bress" in Germany (Bavaria), the name appearing in the records of several counties. The name also includes the agent suffix "-er" which indicates a native or inhabitant of a place. During the middle Ages when migration for the purpose of job seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village name as a means of identification, hence placenames were a main influence in surname formation. The name may have been introduced into England by French Huguenots in the late 16th and 17th Centuries, who were fleeing religious persecution. The name was recorded as "Bresnee" and "Bresne" in the Netherlands and France, while the surname itself is also found in Germany. Jan Jasperez Bresnee married Vrouwtje Arens at Nieuwetonge, South Holland on November 30th 1675, while Marie Bresne was christened on January 26th 1680 at Menoncourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. Elizabeth Bresner was christened on July 28th 1782 at Brin-sur-Seille, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Johannes Bresner married Margaretha Schmidt at Kandel, Pfalz, Bayern on January 13th 1842. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andrew Bresner, which was dated October 23rd 1664 a christening witness at St. Andrew, Holborn, during the reign of King Charles 11, "The Merry Monarch", (1660 - 1685). Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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