Brenton is an English place name and surname. The surname Brenton indicates that one's ancestors came from a place called Brenton near Exminster, Devon, south West England, the original meaning of which was "Bryni's homestead". Bryni was an Old English given name based on the word bryne, "flame".[1]
Brenton is now also used as a given name in English speaking countries. It has been one of the thousand most common names for boys born in the United States since 1966.[2] The name can be commonly found in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In Australia it is particularly associated with South Australia, where it has historically been very popular. Its popularity in Australian and the US increased in the 1980s due to the TV miniseries All the Rivers Run, based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Nancy Cato, which contained a character named Brenton Edwards.[3]