Family name origins & meanings
- Americanized form of German Breil or Breyhel, a variant of Bruehl. Compare Briles.
- Johannes Breyhel and his family, from Oetisheim in Württemberg, were among a group of German colonists sponsored by VA Governor Alexander Spotswood in 1714. They founded a settlement called Germanna in Orange County. Hans Jacob Breyhel (born 1705) was the ancestor of the Broyles family, while his brother Conrad was founder of the Briles family.