Scarbrough History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The history of the Scarbrough family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in the county of Yorkshire, where they held the manor of Scarborough. This place-name was originally derived from the Old English Skaroisburg, which was brought into England during the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Early Origins of the Scarbrough family

The surname Scarbrough was first found in North Riding of Yorkshire at Scarborough, a borough, markettown, and parish. 1

"The origin of this town has not been satisfactorily ascertained: it is supposed to have derived its name from the Saxon Scear, a rock, and Burgh, a fortified place. The earliest authentic record of it is a charter of Henry II., conferring certain privileges on the inhabitants; and in the reign of Henry III., a charter was granted for making a new pier at Scardeburgh, as the place was then called." 2

Some of the family were found further north in Scotland in early years too. "Nicholas de Scardbrow witnessed charters by Willelmus de Hawoc, burgess of Perth, c. 1245 and Roger de Scardtheburge was clericus domini regis, c. 1272. Robert de Scardeburgh was parson of the church of Conington in 1295. " 3 But this latter source notes that the name was indeed from Yorkshire.

Sir Robert de Scorburgh (d. 1340), was Baron of the Exchequer and "derived his name from Scorborough in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He is no doubt the Robert de Scorburgh of Beverley to whom there are some references in 1320 to 1322. At his death he is described as possessing the manor of Scoreby, together with property in Stamford Bridge and Etton. " 4

Early History of the Scarbrough family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scarbrough research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1584, 1615, 1616, 1617, 1635, 1642, 1645, 1646, 1671, 1693 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Scarbrough History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarbrough 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 Scarbrough include Scarbrough, Scarboro, Scarborough, Scasbridge, Scarbrow, Scarburg, Scarburgh, Scarsbridge and many more.

Early Notables of the Scarbrough family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Charles Scarborough MP FRS FRCP (1615-1693), an English physician and mathematician; Captain Edmund Scarborough (1584-1635), English barrister and graduate of Caius College; and his son, Colonel Edmund Scarborough (1617-1671) English-born, early American...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Scarbrough Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarbrough Ranking

In the United States, the name Scarbrough is the 3,506^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 5

Scarbrough 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 Scarbrough or a variant listed above:

Scarbrough Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Ada Scarbrough, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States, in 1904
Julia Scarbrough, aged 30, who immigrated to America, in 1904
Miss. Scarbrough, aged 40, who immigrated to the United States, in 1906
Harry Scarbrough, aged 20, who landed in America, in 1917
Harold Scarbrough, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States, in 1920
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Scarbrough (post 1700) +

Lucy Scarbrough (d. 2020), American pianist and educator, founder of the El Paso Chopin Piano Festival
John William Scarbrough (1885-1960), American All-Southern college football quarterback for the Sewanee Tigers
T. G. Scarbrough, American football coach who coached at the University of Mississippi in 1898
Dan Scarbrough (b. 1978), English rugby union player

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/