MARTHA BROWN

New Testament name, of Aramaic rather than Hebrew origin, meaning ‘lady’. It was borne by the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany (John 11:1). According to Luke 10:38, when Jesus visited the house of Mary and Martha, Mary sat at his feet, listening to him, while Martha ‘was cumbered about much serving’, so that she complained to Jesus, ‘Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?’ For this reason, the name Martha has always been associated with hard domestic work, as opposed to the contemplative life.

English, Scottish, and Irish: generally a nickname referring to the color of the hair or complexion, Middle English br(o)un, from Old English brūn or Old French brun. This word is occasionally found in Old English and Old Norse as a personal name or byname. Brun- was also a Germanic name-forming element. Some instances of Old English Brūn as a personal name may therefore be short forms of compound names such as Brūngar, Brūnwine, etc. As a Scottish and Irish name, it sometimes represents a translation of Gaelic Donn. As an American family name, it has absorbed numerous surnames from other languages with the same meaning.