The Brockdorff family is a Schleswig-Holsteiner old noble house that belonged to German and Danish nobility.
It first appeared in a document from 1167 where Eilwardus de Bruchthorp was mentioned by Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony. Members of the family founded Brokdorf, Holstein, now part of Germany, from where the family originated.
On 24 May 1672 the family was granted the title of Lensgreve by King Christian V of Denmark heritable by masculine primogeniture, while on 3 June 1706 the family was awarded with the title of Imperial Count by Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor.[1] Later, in 19th century the family also obtained the title of Count in Prussia.