Show ContentsAshburner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Ashburner is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname that came from the ancient Saxon name Aescbeorn, which means spear bearer.

Early Origins of the Ashburner family

The surname Ashburner was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat near Barrow in Furness for many centuries.

Early History of the Ashburner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ashburner research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ashburner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ashburner Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Ashburner has been recorded under many different variations, including Ashburner, Eshburner, Ashbourner, Asburner and others.

Early Notables of the Ashburner family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • William Ashburner, Governor of Poona in India


United States Ashburner migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ashburner or a variant listed above:

Ashburner Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Ashburner, who arrived in Maryland in 1783
Ashburner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Luke and his son Adam Ashburner, who arrived in New York in 1820, and moved on to Philadelphia, then westward
  • Mrs. Ashburner, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1872 1

Australia Ashburner migration to Australia +

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

Ashburner Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Edward Ashburner, English convict who was convicted in Lancashire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 27th August 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 2

West Indies Ashburner migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3
Ashburner Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • William Ashburner, who arrived in Barbados in 1680, and later moved to the mainland

Contemporary Notables of the name Ashburner (post 1700) +

  • Lesley Ashburner (1883-1950), American bronze medalist for 110m hurdles at the 1904 Olympic games
  • Michael Ashburner FRS MAE (1942-2023), English biologist and Professor in the Department of Genetics at University of Cambridge


The Ashburner Motto +

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: Actio virtutis laus
Motto Translation: The action of the power of praise


  1. 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)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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