Show ContentsCabburey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

In ancient Scotland, Cabburey was a Strathclyde-Briton name for someone who lived in the parish of Inveresk, Lothian, which was first recorded in the form Crebarrin, from the words Gaelic craobhm meaning "tree," and barran, meaning "hedge."

Early Origins of the Cabburey family

The surname Cabburey was first found in Midlothian, from the lands of CarBerry in the parish of Inveresk. "Johannes de Crebarrin filius Gilleberti de Crebarrin made two grants of lands from his territory of Crebarrin, c. 1230, and about the same period Adam filius Patricii de Crebarrin gifted four bovates of his land of Crebarrin to the Abbey of Dunfermelin. Alexander Crabarri, juror on forfeited estates in Lothian, 1312. William Carbery, M.A., petitioned for a canonry of Aberdeen, 1406." 1

Carberry Tower is a historic house in East Lothian, Scotland. King David I of Scotland granted "Caerbairin" (Carberry) to the monks of Dunfermline Abbey. The first landowner or lessee was John de Crebarrie. Carberry Hill, part of the Carberry Estate was the site where Mary, Queen of Scots facing an army assembled by a confederation of her lords, surrendered.

While most of the family hails from Scotland, there is another possible origin; that of Ireland. There the name "is derived from a geographical locality, 'of Carberry,' a parish in County Kildare, Ireland. As this surname looks very English, I insert it to prevent any misapprehension." 2

"The Carbury or Carbery baronies in Longford and Sligo were so called from Cairbre, one of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, King of Ireland from A.D. 379 to 405." 3 4

Early History of the Cabburey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cabburey research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1230, 1743, 1792, 1806 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cabburey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cabburey Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Cabburey has been spelled Carberry, Carbarry, Carbery, Carbray, Carbury, Carbrey, Carbry, Carby, Crebarin and many more.

Early Notables of the Cabburey family

More information is included under the topic Early Cabburey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Cabburey family to Ireland

Some of the Cabburey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cabburey family

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them: Edward, James, John, Patrick, William CarBerry arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1855; John Carbery arrived in New York 1803; Cormick Carbey arrived in Philadelphia in 1864..



  1. 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)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)


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