Worboys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Worboys is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Worboys family lived in "Verboys, near Rouen, Normandy. This family gave its name to Warbois or Warboys, formerly spelt Wardeboys, a considerable village on the high road from Huntingdon to Ramsey." 1

Early Origins of the Worboys family

The surname Worboys was first found in Cambridgeshire, formerly Huntingdonshire where it is now a large parish and village. The village dates back to pre-Conquest times where the first listing was Weardebusc in 974. Literally the place name probably means "bush of a man called Wearda" having derived from the Old English personal name + busc. 2

By the time of the Domesday Book, the lands were held listed as lands of St. Benedict of Ramsey. Looking back further, the family was originally derived from Verbois, near Rouen in Normandy. 3 4

"Walter Wardebois is mentioned in the county as early as 1199. (Rotuli Curiae Regis.) Geoffrey de Wardbois, a townsman of Cambridge, was 'charged with having joined in the great riot against the Master and Scholars of the University' in 1322." 1

Early History of the Worboys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Worboys research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1261, 1825, 1846 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Worboys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Worboys Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Worboys family name include Warboy, Warboyse, Warboise, Wardboys, Gardboys, Garboys, Worboy, Worboys and many more.

Early Notables of the Worboys family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Emma Jane Warboise (1825-1887), author, the eldest child of George Baddeley Worboise and his wife, Maria Lane (her father property in Birmingham), was born in Birmingham on 20 April 1825. She early developed a strong turn for story writing, and by the time she was twenty had amassed a large quantity of manuscripts both prose and poetry...
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Worboys Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Worboys migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Worboys family to immigrate North America:

Worboys Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Worboys, aged 30, who settled in America from Liverpool, in 1893

Worboys Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mrs. Wm. A. Worboys, aged 21, who landed in America, in 1908
William A. Worboys, who landed in America, in 1910
Edith M. Worboys, who immigrated to America, in 1910
John Worboys, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States, in 1923
Alex Worboys, aged 29, who landed in America, in 1924
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Worboys migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Worboys Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Worboys, English convict who was convicted in Hertfordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "David Lyon" on 29th April 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Worboys (post 1700) +

Sir Walter John Worboys KT (1900-1969), Australian-born, British businessman, eponym of the Warboys Committee to review signage on all British roads, director of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI)
Gavin Worboys (b. 1974), English former footballer who scored 12 goals from 65 appearances in the Football League
Anne Eyre Worboys (1920-2007), New Zealand writer of 40 romance and suspense novels; her novel Every Man A King won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association (1977)
Helen Worboys, New Zealand politician, the sixth Mayor of Manawatu (2016-)
Michael "Mike" Worboys (b. 1947), British mathematician, computer scientist and professor of spatial informatics at the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Greenwich, London, England

Historic Events for the Worboys family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Robert M Worboys (b. 1921), English Stoker 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 6

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-lyon
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm