| ![Show Contents]() Rathburn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England Rathburn is one of the oldest family names to come from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from the baptismal name Rawbone. Patronymic surnames arose out of the vernacular and religious given name traditions. The vernacular or regional naming tradition is the oldest and most pervasive type of patronymic surname. According to this custom, names were originally composed of vocabulary elements from the local language. Vernacular names that were derived from ancient Germanic personal names have cognates in most European languages. Early Origins of the Rathburn familyThe surname Rathburn was first found in Worcestershire where Richard Rathebon was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1275. However, Cheshire was a focal point for the family as numerous entries were found there from the 14th century on. John Rathebon was listed there in 1347 1 and one source notes the name was in: "Cheshire records as Rathebon, does not seem to be English. If the original bearers of the name came from Ireland it answers to the Irish Rathbane, Rathbaun = 'White Fort' [Irish rath, a fort; also palace + bán, white]. If from Wales (as seems more likely), the name prob. means the 'Stumpy Clearing or Plain' [Welsh rhath, a cleared spot, plain (conn. with Irish rath) + Welsh bon, a stock, stump, stem (conn. with Irish and Gaelic bonn, a foundation, base] and is apparently allied to 'Ratisbon.' " 2 Another source has a slightly different understanding: "this surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Ruabon'. There seems little doubt that these surnames hail from Cheshire, also that Ruabon is the parent. The change to Rathbone is peculiar, but perhaps the place-name Ruabon has undergone a change. I furnish an instance of Rawbone from the Prestbury registers (Cheshire) dated 1603. A Thomas Rathbone was living there in 1695." 3 "There were Rathbones in Prestbury, [Cheshire] 200 years ago. Richard Rathbone was mayor of Chester in 1598, and Thomas Rathbone was sheriff of that city in 1790." 4 Early History of the Rathburn familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rathburn research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1696, 1726, 1746, 1748, 1750, 1757, 1763, 1770, 1773, 1780, 1789, 1792, 1807, 1809 and 1831 are included under the topic Early Rathburn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Rathburn Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Rathburn has undergone many spelling variations, including Rathbone, Rawbone, Rathburn and others. Early Notables of the Rathburn familyDistinguished members of the family include William Rathbone II (1696-1746), founder of Rathbone Brothers, in Liverpool a timber business that grew to be one of the United Kingdom's largest firms of wealth managers, thus beginning a long running family of Liverpool merchants and shipowners with a long history of philanthropy and public service.Wilson Rathborne (1748-1831), captain in the navy, son of Richard Rathborne, a clergyman, was born near Loughrea, co. Galway, on 16 July 1748. In September 1763 he was entered as an ‘able seaman’ on board the Niger, with Sir Thomas Adams, on the Newfoundland station. As able seaman and...
Another 268 words (19 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rathburn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Rathburn RankingIn the United States, the name Rathburn is the 10,172nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5
 Rathburn migration to the United States | + |
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Rathburn were among those contributors:
Rathburn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Mary Rathburn and her husband, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1772
Rathburn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Mid Rathburn, aged 12, who landed in New York in 1854 6
| Rathburn migration to Canada | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Rathburn Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century- Mr. Joseph Rathburn U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 7
| Contemporary Notables of the name Rathburn (post 1700) | + |
- Chelsea Rathburn, award-winning American poet
- Cliff Rathburn, American comic book artist
- Eldon Rathburn (1916-2008), Canadian composer
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Suaviter et Fortiter
Motto Translation: Mildly and firmly.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
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Rathburn migration to the United States 
Rathburn migration to Canada 
