origin
From An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (source info below): "The Earls of Anjou first took the surname of Broom or Broome after their pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Fulke, Earl of Anjou, having worn a sprig of the broom-plant (planta genet) as the symbol of humility."
other versions of this surname
sources
- An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857.