Show ContentsBradborne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The lineage of the name Bradborne begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Bradbourne, a parish, partly in the hundred of Appletree, but chiefly in that of Wirksworth in Derbyshire. 1

"The manor was one of those belonging to Henry de Ferrers at the time of the Domesday survey; in the reign of John it was conveyed to the Bradborne family, of whom Henry de Bradborne was executed at Pomfret, in 1322, for his adhesion to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. " 2

Listed as Bradeburne in the Domesday Book of 1086, 3 the place name literally means place at the broad stream from the Old English "brad" + "burna." 4 5

Early Origins of the Bradborne family

The surname Bradborne was first found in Kent, where John de Bradeburn was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. A few years later, Roger de Bradeburn was listed in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1286. 6

Early History of the Bradborne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bradborne research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1540, 1573, 1662, 1751, 1787, 1816, 1831, 1832 and 1842 are included under the topic Early Bradborne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bradborne Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Bradborne has undergone many spelling variations, including Bradbourn, Bradbourne, Bradborn, Bradborne, Bradburn and many more.

Early Notables of the Bradborne family

Distinguished members of the family include Samuel Bradburn (1751-1816), Methodist preacher, an associate of Wesley, and an intimate disciple of Fletcher of Madeley. He was the son of a private in the army, and was born at Gibraltar. On his father's return to England, when he was about twelve years old, he was apprenticed to a cobbler at Chester, and after a course of youthful profligacy became a Methodist at the age of eighteen, entered the itinerant ministry about three years later, and continued in it more than forty years till his death. Bradburn was, according to the testimony of all...
Another 207 words (15 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bradborne Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bradborne family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. 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 Bradborne were among those contributors: Thomas Bradburne who settled in Virginia in 1663; Thomas Bradborn who settled in Virginia in 1732; John Bradburn settled in New England in 1705.



  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


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