Brent 323937 222777647 2008-07-01T01:48:56Z 76.200.164.245 :''For a list of articles see [[Brent (disambiguation)]]'' {{Infobox Given Name Revised | name = Brent | image= | imagesize= | caption= | pronunciation= | gender = Male | meaning = Celtic words for ''Holy one'' | region = | origin = | related names = | footnotes = }} '''Brent''' is an English place name and surname. The place name can be from Celtic words meaning "holy one" (if it refers to the [[River Brent]]), or "high place," literally, "from a steep hill" (if it refers to the villages in Somerset and Devon, England) (Mills 1991). The surname often indicates that one's ancestors lived in a place called Brent, but it can also come from the Middle English word ''brent'' meaning burned, indicating that one's ancestor either lived near a burned-over area, or was a criminal who had been branded on the cheek (Hanks and Hodges 1988). Brent has also become a regularly used given name, being among the thousand most common names for boys born in the United States since 1933. [http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/] When used as a given name today, Brent is sometimes a short form of [[Brenton]], but this was probably not the original inspiration for Brent's use as a given name, since Brenton's own regular use as a first name came many years after Brent was established in that role (Evans 2006). ==References== * Evans, C. K. (2006). ''The great big book of baby names.'' Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Limited. ISBN 1-4127-1300-5. * Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. (1988). ''A dictionary of surnames.'' New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-211592-8. * Mills, A. D. (1991). ''A dictionary of English place-names.'' New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869156-4. ==Famous Brents== * [http://www.brentcsutoras.com/ Brent Csutoras] * [http://www.brentbarrett.com/ Brent Varrett] [[Category:English surnames]] [[Category:Given names]] [[da:Brent]] [[de:Brent]] [[es:Brent]] [[fr:Brent]] [[nl:Brent]] [[no:Brent]] [[pl:Brent]] [[pt:Brent]] [[vo:Brent]]