bracken

noun

a large, coarse fern with compound fronds, often growing in dense thickets in woodland and heathland areas

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈbɹækən/

name

Etymology: * 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.

A surname.
An unincorporated community in Huntington County, Indiana, United States.
An unincorporated community in Webster County, Missouri, United States, named after Bracken Creek.
A village in the Rural Municipality of Lone Tree No. 18, Saskatchewan, Canada.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English braken, probably of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *brakni (“undergrowth”), related to Proto-Germanic *brekaną and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Cognates include Danish bregne and Swedish bräken (“fern”).

Any of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock.
An area of countryside heavily populated by this fern.