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Barn History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Barn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland

The proud Norman name of Barn was developed in England soon after Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was name for a small child. The surname springs from the middle English bairn, of the same meaning. 1 2

Early Origins of the Barn family

The surname Barn was first found in Surrey at Barnes, a parish, in the union of Richmond, W. division of the hundred of Brixton. 3 This parish was originally listed as Berne 4 in the Domesday Book of 1086.

According to the Saxon Chronicle, Siward Barn was the patriot rebel against William the Conqueror. 5 After that early listing, one of the first records of the name was found in Surrey as Philip de Bernes. 6

Other early records include: Henry de le Berne in Norfolk; Richard de la Berne in Kent; and William de la Berne in Dorset, all listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 1 William Bernes was listed in the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1380 and Joan Barnes was also listed in Cheshire in 1450. 6

Early Scottish sources revealed that the name was from "Barnes in the parish of Premnay, Aberdeenshire" 7 where the first record was found in the 15th century as Robert of Bernis, a goldsmith in 1465. 7

Early History of the Barn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barn research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1300, 1495, 1532, 1540, 1569, 1587, 1609, 1627, 1654, 1661, 1675, 1710, 1712 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Barn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barn Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Barn have been found, including Barnes, Barns, Barnis, Bernys, Barness and others.

Early Notables of the Barn family

Distinguished members of the family include

Robert Barnes (1495-1540), English Protestant divine and martyr, a Norfolk man, born in the neighbourhood of Lynn. "Barnes and his two companions, as heretics, were committed to the flames." 8
Richard Barnes (1532-1587), Bishop of Durham, born at Bould, near Warrington, in Lancashire, son of John Barnes and Agnes Saunderson, his wife
John Barnes (died 1661), was an English Benedictine monk, from Lancashire. Ambrose Barnes (1627-1710), was an English nonconformist and Mayor of Newcastle
Joshua Barnes FRS (1654-1712), was an English scholar and author, best known for his Utopian romance "a New Discovery of a Little Sort of People, anciently discoursed of, called Pygmies" in 1675

Migration of the Barn family to Ireland

Some of the Barn family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barn migration to the United States +

For many English families, the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. For such families, the shores of Ireland, Australia, and the New World beckoned. They left their homeland at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. Many arrived after the long voyage sick, starving, and without a penny. But even those were greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. Numerous English settlers who arrived in the United States and Canada at this time went on to make important contributions to the developing cultures of those countries. 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 Barn were among those contributors:

Barn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Barn, who landed in Virginia in 1701 9

Barn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mark Barn, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1813 9
Robert Barn, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1846 9
Charles Barn, who landed in Indiana in 1852 9
Casper Barn, aged 4, who arrived in New York in 1854 9

Barn migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Barn Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Barn, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Woodhouse Barn, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Barn migration to Australia +

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

Barn Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Charles Barn, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cressy" in 1847 10

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CRESSY 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847Cressy.htm