VERA BROWN

(Russian) name, meaning ‘faith’. It coincides in form with the feminine form of the Latin adjective verus ‘true’. It was introduced to Britain at the beginning of the 20th century and was popular in the early decades, notably borne by the singer Vera Lynn, ‘The Forces Sweetheart’ (b. 1917 as Vera Welch), but has since gone out of fashion.

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.