Meaning

noun fern of southeastern Asia; not hardy in cold temperate regions

noun large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan

origin* As an Irish surname, from Ó Breacáin (“descendant of Breacán”), from Breacán, a name diminutive of breac (“spotted”) * As an English surname, from Middle English bracken (“fern”) * As an English habitational surname, from Bracon Ash in Norfolk, Bracken in Yorkshire * As a German surname, from Middle Low German braak (“fallow”) Also compare Brackeen.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0