About us
If you are surnamed Brunt or its many variants you are part of a genetic group that is spread across Europe, USA, New Zealand and Samoa to name the largest groupings with around 5,000 so named around the world. This site has been set up to allow and share DNA, family and history information on the Brunt/Blunt/Blount DNA lines.
There are at least 3 lines of men that today are surnamed Brunt.
Most like I are from a line that arrived in England in or around 1066 as part of the Norman invasion and are found around the world today. That is the focus of this project.
Others are descendants from an English family once named 'Bruntisford' that was shortened to Brunt in the 1650s.
The 3rd line is from Van Brunts from the Netherlands.
All 3 groups are from different male line genetics. To know which you are for sure requires a yDNA test, unless you are a clear close autosomal match (like an Ancestry DNA test) to someone who has.
Brunt males from the 'Norman' line are of the yDNA "G" haplogroup and are positive for the GM201, GM406, and FGC5081 SNPs these are rare today globally. Our ancestors certainly left the Levant region (modern day Turkey) some 8000 years ago passed through Lebanon, up through the Danube Valley to Austria, through Swabia, a branch into modern day Portugal some 5,000 years ago as well then arrived in ancient northern Gaul around 2000 years ago after fighting the Romans as part of the Alemmani tribe after a few hundred years before being subjected to Frankish rule. This is where our ancestors lived between Normandy and Scandinavia for perhaps 500 years before then arriving in the United Kingdom probably as part of the Norman invasion from 1066. Sometime around then with the creation of surnames, the Blount and the Brunt male lines split into two with us most likely descended from two different brothers born around 1000, the elder, Blount probably being Blond and the younger, Brunt perhaps brunette. The other likely alternative is that the first Brunt of our line was a 1500s man called Henry Brount that was the grandson of an Edward Blount.
For around 100 years in England the surname Brount was also used but is now extinct.
The Blount lines became quite serious UK Nobles, while the Brunt lines for hundreds of years were senior members of the UK Clergy and minor landed gentry, mostly until the death of King Richard III, which our lines were attached too, led to a major loss of their power and wealth. Indeed yDNA shows King Richard III male family even had a common male ancestor with our family line sometime around 4,000 years ago. From the 1800s many Brunt's left the UK for the New World with lines today in New Zealand, Samoa and USA. Many of the Brunt lines especially in the USA and Samoa were also settled by godly Brunt folk. By sharing information we build on the science and knowledge of where we all came from. Because of this genetic path we also have non Brunt ancient male yDNA genetic relatives today in parts of Austria, Portugal, and even Georgia.
There are at least 3 lines of men that today are surnamed Brunt.
Most like I are from a line that arrived in England in or around 1066 as part of the Norman invasion and are found around the world today. That is the focus of this project.
Others are descendants from an English family once named 'Bruntisford' that was shortened to Brunt in the 1650s.
The 3rd line is from Van Brunts from the Netherlands.
All 3 groups are from different male line genetics. To know which you are for sure requires a yDNA test, unless you are a clear close autosomal match (like an Ancestry DNA test) to someone who has.
Brunt males from the 'Norman' line are of the yDNA "G" haplogroup and are positive for the GM201, GM406, and FGC5081 SNPs these are rare today globally. Our ancestors certainly left the Levant region (modern day Turkey) some 8000 years ago passed through Lebanon, up through the Danube Valley to Austria, through Swabia, a branch into modern day Portugal some 5,000 years ago as well then arrived in ancient northern Gaul around 2000 years ago after fighting the Romans as part of the Alemmani tribe after a few hundred years before being subjected to Frankish rule. This is where our ancestors lived between Normandy and Scandinavia for perhaps 500 years before then arriving in the United Kingdom probably as part of the Norman invasion from 1066. Sometime around then with the creation of surnames, the Blount and the Brunt male lines split into two with us most likely descended from two different brothers born around 1000, the elder, Blount probably being Blond and the younger, Brunt perhaps brunette. The other likely alternative is that the first Brunt of our line was a 1500s man called Henry Brount that was the grandson of an Edward Blount.
For around 100 years in England the surname Brount was also used but is now extinct.
The Blount lines became quite serious UK Nobles, while the Brunt lines for hundreds of years were senior members of the UK Clergy and minor landed gentry, mostly until the death of King Richard III, which our lines were attached too, led to a major loss of their power and wealth. Indeed yDNA shows King Richard III male family even had a common male ancestor with our family line sometime around 4,000 years ago. From the 1800s many Brunt's left the UK for the New World with lines today in New Zealand, Samoa and USA. Many of the Brunt lines especially in the USA and Samoa were also settled by godly Brunt folk. By sharing information we build on the science and knowledge of where we all came from. Because of this genetic path we also have non Brunt ancient male yDNA genetic relatives today in parts of Austria, Portugal, and even Georgia.