How did braintree Massachusetts get its name?

Answer 1

Nobody is quite sure. However, "-try/-tre/-tree" is a fairly common name ending for villages (cf Coventry, Daventry) and the town sits on the River Brain. (Admittedly that only pushes the question back a level, but the somewhat similar "burn/born" and spelling variations thereof is common in the names of waterways in Scotland and England; couple that with the fact that spelling was quite idiosyncratic up until as recently as 200 years ago, and you may have the answer.)

Answer 2

It was named after the Town Braintree in Essex UK