Recorded in the varied spellings of Brasher, Brashier, Brazier, Braizier, Brasier, Brazear, and Brazer, this is an English surname. It derives from the pre 7th century "Broesian" meaning "to cast in brass", and was originally given as an occupational name to a manufacturer of brass weapons and implements. The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 13th Century, (see below), and early recordings include: William Brasier in the "Subsidy Rolls" of the county of Essex in 1327, and Thomas Brasyer in the 1381 "Assize Court" rolls of Cambridgeshire. The -er suffix attached to the name means "one who works". Later recordings taken from surviving church registers of the post Reformation period include: Isacke Brazier, who was christened at St. Andrew's, Holborn, London, on July 25th 1622, and the marriage of Thomas Brazier and Elizabeth Manrice at St. James's church, Duke's Place, London, on May 21st 1688. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard le Brazur, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Shropshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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