Brunton

English

Etymology

From a metathesized form of Old English burna (“stream”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”). This surname is also common in Ireland.

Proper noun

Brunton (countable and uncountable, plural Bruntons)

1. (uncountable) A placename:
   1. A village in Newton-by-the-Sea parish, Northumberland, England (OS grid ref NU2024).
   2. A hamlet in Collingbourne Kingston parish, Wiltshire, England (OS grid ref SU2456).
   3. A hamlet near Cupar, Fife council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO3220).
2. (countable) A habitational surname from Old English.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Brunton is the 14070^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 2139 individuals. Brunton is most common among White (91.91%) individuals.

Noun

Brunton (plural Bruntons)

1. (informal) Synonym of Brunton compass
   • 2009, Tom Freeman, Procedures in Field Geology, page 13:

     USING A BRUNTON AS A PROTRACTOR
     If you find yourself without a protractor for plotting rays on a map in the field—as you must do when triangulating—you can first field-orient your map and then use the Brunton as a protractor […]

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Brunton”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 240.