Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael M. Dunn wrote a blog post in 2011 making note of a book from 1921 attributing the origins of the term at least in part due to a British military acronym that stood for “British Regiment Attached Traveler” (BRAT).

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This designation was given to families who were approved to accompany the servicemember to an overseas duty location. The story goes that eventually “BRAT” became synonymous with military children.

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BRATs as they were known in British military culture were addressed in British Educational Research Journal, but another reference in British pop culture from the 1700s, a play called The Recruiting Officer could also lend a clue. It has lyrics that reference military and/or civilian “brats and wives.”