This unusual and interesting surname is of German and Dutch origin, and is from an occupational name for an officer having control of a bridge, derived from the Dutch "brug", from the Middle Dutch "brugghe", and the German "brucke", from the Old High German "brucca", a bridge, similar to the Old Norse "bryggja", and the Dutch "man", the German "mann", from the Old High German "man", similar to the Old Norse "mannr"; hence "bridge man". Job descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The surname was first recorded in the early 18th Century. Recorded in Church Registers are the christening of Anna Gertrud Breukelmann on January 13th 1717 at St. John the Baptist, Essen, Rheinland, Germany; the marriage of Coenraad Hendrik Breukelman and Clasina Barnouw on October 10th 1754 at Schiedam, Zuid Holland; and the birth of Maria Gertrudy, daughter of Theodorus Brewkelman and Maria Sybilla Heger, on December 23rd 1760 at Bottop, Westfalen, Germany. A Coat of Arms granted to a Breukelman family from Holland is a blue shield with a silver anchor with two red bars tipped with silver, the border of the shield being silver. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johan Theodor Breuckelmann, which was dated December 11th 1712, born at Bottrop, Westfalen, Germany, during the reign of Charles V1, "Holy Roman Emperor", 1711 - 1740. 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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