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Surname Etymology and Meaning of BRIDE

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

(origin: Gaelic.) From Brighid, a hostage, pledge, or security. The son of Bridget. Cormac, Archbishop of Cashel, in his glossary, defines Brighid "fiery dart," and that it was the name of the Muse who was believed to preside over poetry, in pagan times, in Ireland. Breochuidh, a term given to those virgins who kept the perpetual fire of Beil or Belus among the Druids and ancient Celts.

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857).

1. Irish and Scottish: reduced form of McBride.
2. Perhaps also a reduced form of Scottish Kilbride.
3. English: metathesized variant of Bird.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)