It is named for Lorrin Thomas Brownmiller (1902–1990), chief chemist of the Alpha Portland Cement Company, Easton, Pennsylvania.

The naturally occurring mineral form of the compound was first recognized in 1964 for occurrences in the Bellerberg volcano, Ettringen, Mayen-Koblenz, Germany.

Minerals associated with brownmillerite in the Mayen locality include calcite, ettringite, wollastonite, larnite, mayenite, gehlenite, diopside, pyrrhotite, grossular, spinel, afwillite, jennite, portlandite and jasmundite.

[3] The mineral is similar to the calcium aluminoferrite phases which are commonly found as components of Portland cement.

[citation needed] Brownmillerite has been found to be a highly active oxygen evolution reaction catalyst in neutral pH.