The origin of surname Breton is France, where after passing to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The name refers to the French province of Britannia.
The families of this region are considered descendants of Celtic tribes, and were forced to migrate to Britain by the Roman Empire around the third century.

In medieval scribes and monks wrote the surname as it sounded as variations depending on geographic region were significant. As the English language was changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman, French and Latin, all the people changed the pronunciation of their names.

Some variations of this surname are: Breton, Britain, Britayne, Briton, Brittain, Brittain, Brittan, Britten, Brittin, Britton, Britton, Brettain, Bretaine, Brettin, Brett, Brittany and many more.