Show ContentsAylesbury History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Aylesbury family

The surname Aylesbury was first found in Buckinghamshire at Aylesbury, a borough, market-town, parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Aylesbury. "This place appears to have been one of the strongholds of the ancient Britons, from whom it was taken in the year 571 by Cutwulph, brother of Ceawlin, King of the West Saxons; and to have had a castle of some importance, from which circumstance probably it derives its Saxon appellation Aeglesburge. In the reign of the Conqueror it was a royal manor." 1 By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name was listed as Eilesberia 2 and literally meant "stronghold or a man called Aegel. " 3 As far as the surname is concerned, the first record of the surname was found in 1188 when Richard of Aylesbury of Eynsham held estates in this shire.

Early History of the Aylesbury family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aylesbury research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1280, 1307, 1377, 1381, 1455, 1487, 1576, 1615, 1622, 1628, 1635, 1656, 1657, 1659 and 1677 are included under the topic Early Aylesbury History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aylesbury Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Aylesbury include Aylesbury, AylesBerry, Aylesbery, Aylesbry, Ailsberry, Ailsburry, Ailsbry and many more.

Early Notables of the Aylesbury family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Sir Thomas Aylesbury (1576-1657) 1st Baronet, an English civil servant, Surveyor of the Navy from 1628, jointly Master of the Mint from 1635, and a patron of mathematical learning. He "was born in Lon...
  • William Aylesbury (1615-1656), was an English translator from the Italian. Although a supporter of Charles I, he obtained an office under the Commonwealth, as he was the son of Sir Thomas Aylesbury
  • Thomas Aylesbury (fl. 1622-1659), was an English theologian, educated at Cambridge, where he took the degrees of M.A. and B.D. 4

Migration of the Aylesbury family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Aylesbury were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: settlers, who arrived along the eastern seaboard, from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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