Show ContentsAmburgy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The illustrious surname Amburgy finds its origin in the rocky, sea swept coastal area of southwestern England known as Cornwall. Although surnames were fairly widespread in medieval England, people were originally known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted is extremely interesting. As populations grew, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Lords and their tenants often became known by the name of the feudal territory they owned or lived on. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used local surnames. This was due to the heavy political and cultural influence of the English upon the Cornish People at the time that surnames first came into use. Local surnames were derived from where a person lived, held land, or was born. While many Cornish surnames of this sort appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames derived from lost or unrecorded place names. The name Amburgy is a local type of surname and the Amburgy family lived in Cornwall, in the village of Lamborne where one source notes the name was "anciently written in the Cornish-British Lambron, the inclosure of the round hill; lan being changed into lam, for the sake of the euphony or ease in speaking; from the Welsh Llan, an inclosure, and bryn, a hill." [1]

Like many names from Cornwall, we must look to Normandy for the origin of the family. It is there we found in the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae an entry for Alvered de Lamborne, Normandy 1180-1195. [2] When they ventured to England is not known.

Lambourn is a parish, in the union of Hungerford, hundred of Lambourn, in Berkshire and this "place formed part of the dower of Ealswitha, queen of Alfred the Great, and continued in royal demesne under Edward the Confessor; after the Conquest it was given to the baronial family of Fitzwarren, at whose instance a market and three fairs were granted to it by Henry III. " [3]

The place name literally means "stream where lambs are washed," from the Old English "lamb"+ "burna." [4] The Berkshire parish is the oldest dating back to Saxon times when it was known as Lambburnan c. 880 and later in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was listed as Lamborne. [5]

Lambourne in Essex also dates back to the Domesday Book when it was known as Lamburna. [5]

Early Origins of the Amburgy family

The surname Amburgy was first found in Cornwall where the family held an estate in the parish of Perran Zabuloe dating back to the reign of Edward II. [6] [7]

"In the days of Edward III. about 1330, these lands [of Lamburn, Cornwall] belonged to Sir John Lamburn of Lamburn, in Perransand, whose daughter and heir was married to one of the Arundells of Lanherne." [8]

Ralph de Lamburne was listed in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1198 and later, Alice de Lamborne was found in Wiltshire in 1278. [9]

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 includes: William de Lamburne, Suffolk; Alicia de Lamburne, Oxfordshire; and Lambekin de Lamburne, London. [10]

Early History of the Amburgy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Amburgy research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1363, 1367, 1376, 1451, 1525, 1583, 1663, 1722, 1763, 1764, 1765 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Amburgy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Amburgy Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Lamborne, Lambourne, Lamborn, Lambourn and others.

Early Notables of the Amburgy family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Reginald Lamborn (fl. 1363), English astronomer who "studied under the astronomers William Rede and John Aschendon, at Merton College, where he became B.D. In 1363 and 1367 he was a monk in the Benedictine monastery of Eynaham, Oxfordshire; in 1376 he appears as D.D. and monk of St. Marr, York. Some time after this he entered the Franciscan order at Oxford, and died at Northampton." [11]Peter Spendelowe Lamborn (1722-1774), engraver and miniature-painter, born at Cambridge in 1722, was son...
Another 87 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Amburgy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Amburgy family

An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Amburgy: Thomas Lamborne, who settled with his wife and servants in Barbados in 1680; Robert Lambourne, who settled in Virginia in 1689; and Mathew Lambourne, who settled in Maryland in 1730..



  1. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  2. 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)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  6. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  7. Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
  8. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  9. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  10. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  11. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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