Show ContentsCoborn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Coborn comes from when the family resided in Colbourne, a township in the parish of Catterick in the North Riding of Yorkshire. 1 It is from the place-name that the family name is derived. 2 3

The place-names come from the Old English words "col," meaning "cool," and "burna," meaning "stream," collectively meaning "dweller near a cold stream." 4

The Domesday Book of 1086 lists this place as Corburne 5 and by 1198 it was known as Coleburn.

Early Origins of the Coborn family

The surname Coborn was first found in Yorkshire where one of the first of the name on record was Geoffrey de Colebrunn in 1208 who held estates in the North Riding of Yorkshire in the parish of Catterick. Later, William de Colburn was listed as a Freeman of York in 1386. 6

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Ricardus Collebround and Margarela Colbrand. 7

Researching old Somerset records we found Robert Colbern and William Colebrond both listed 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 8

Early History of the Coborn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coborn research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1370, 1386, 1622, 1631, 1677, 1686, 1693, 1695, 1701, 1778, 1794, 1795, 1799, 1800, 1801, 1808 and 1863 are included under the topic Early Coborn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coborn 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. Coborn has been recorded under many different variations, including Colburn, Colburne, Colborne, Colbourne, Coulbourne, Colbourn, Cullburn, Colborn, Colbryn, Coulbryne, Culbourne, Cullburne and many more.

Early Notables of the Coborn family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Prisca Coborn (1622-1701) an English wealthy widow of a brewer, who established the Coopers' Company and Coborn School, a coeducational school in Bow in 1701


United States Coborn 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 Coborn or a variant listed above:

Coborn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Coborn, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Coborn (post 1700) +

  • Charles Coborn (1852-1945), English comedian


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  9. 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)


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