brokenshire is a surname of cornish origin. the original derivation of the surname is unclear. it is found in the early 1600s, and possibly earlier, in the area around roche, cornwall, and formed a diaspora from there. suggestions that brokenshire is a regional variant of the early english / yorkshire surname burkinshaw, or similar, are unhelpful, since there is no explanation of the geographical split nor variance. it seems likely that the surname brokenshire arose independently in cornwall.