This unusual name is of English locational origin, from the place in East Yorkshire called 'Bracken'. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Brachen' and as 'Brakene' by 1195. The derivation is ultimately from the Old Scandinavian 'brakni', Old English pre 7th century 'braecan' meaning bracken. Locational names were usually given to the lord of the manor and to the local inhabitants and especially to those who left their original homes and went to live or work in another town or village. One Thomas Breckon married Elizabeth Allile at Lythe in Yorkshire in 1711. In the modern idiom the surname can be spelt in various ways, from Brekan, Breckin and Brec(k)on to Brichens, Briken and Britchon. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Jane Breckon, christened. which was dated 1st March 1618, St. Michael le Belfry, York. during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scotland, 1603-1625. 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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