BRAY Origin of surname
BRAY, DEBRAY, DEPRE, DEBRE
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.
There are several towns and villages in northern France and the south of Belgium called Bray, from which the names in this group may be derived. Jews are known to have lived in One of them, Bray-sur-Seine (France), from at least the 12th century. The prefix "De" in the variants Debray, Depre, and Debre, is the French word for "of/from". As a Jewish family name, Bray is documented in 1204 in Paris. Michel Depre is recorded in 1808 in Lauterbourg in eastern France on the German border.
Distinguished bearers of the surname Debre include the 19th/20th century French Jewish physician Robert Debre and the Jewish-born politician Michel Debre who was the Prime Minister of France from 1959 to 1962.
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.
There are several towns and villages in northern France and the south of Belgium called Bray, from which the names in this group may be derived. Jews are known to have lived in One of them, Bray-sur-Seine (France), from at least the 12th century. The prefix "De" in the variants Debray, Depre, and Debre, is the French word for "of/from". As a Jewish family name, Bray is documented in 1204 in Paris. Michel Depre is recorded in 1808 in Lauterbourg in eastern France on the German border.
Distinguished bearers of the surname Debre include the 19th/20th century French Jewish physician Robert Debre and the Jewish-born politician Michel Debre who was the Prime Minister of France from 1959 to 1962.