Billbrough History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Billbrough family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in Bilbrough, a village near Tadcaster in the county of Yorkshire. The place name appears in the 11th century in the Domesday Book of 1086: "In Bilbrough, Christchurch, 8 carucates of land taxable. Land for 4 ploughs. Richard (son of Arnfastr) has there one plough; and 6 villagers and 2 smallholders with 2 ploughs. Woodland pasture in places. The whole, 1 league long and a half wide. Value before 1066, 44s; now 22s."

Early Origins of the Billbrough family

The surname Billbrough was first found in Yorkshire, at the village of Billbrough where despite the village's long history back to the Domesday Book, 1 has a population of only 319 accordingly to the 2001 census. The toponym Bilborough is composed of the Old English personal name Bille and "burh" meaning "stronghold, fortress". 2

One of the earliest references to this name or to a variant is Richard de Bilburgh, molendarius (miller), who is listed in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York in 1379. 3

Early History of the Billbrough family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Billbrough research. Another 302 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1219, 1308, 1379, 1500, 1567, 1619, 1632, 1867 and 1885 are included under the topic Early Billbrough History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Billbrough Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Billbrough include Bilbrough, Bilbrow, Bilborough, Billeburg, Bilburgh, Bilburg, Bilbery, Billbrey and many more.

Early Notables of the Billbrough family

More information is included under the topic Early Billbrough Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Billbrough migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Billbrough or a variant listed above:

Billbrough Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Billbrough, who landed in Virginia in 1634 4

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)