This is a French Heraldic name recorded from the Province of Vaud. However it appears early in an anglicized form in Cambridge and Nottingham in the 13th century. The English development is regarded with some suspicion but it appears to have been from Brenhaud to Brynnedhand, Johannes Brynhand being in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, whilst it appears as Brennand also of Yorkshire and Brennard c. 1550. It is believed that certain name holders were of Huguenot origination and entered England after 1685 The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Brenhaud which was dated 1273 The Pipe Rolls of Cambridge during the reign of King Edward 1 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.