Contents [hide]

Hepburn History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Hepburn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

In the annals of British history, few names go farther back than Hepburn, which started among the people of the Boernician tribe. The first family to use the name Hepburn lived in Northumberland, in the village of Hebburn in the parish of Chillingham.

Early Origins of the Hepburn family

The surname Hepburn was first found in Northumberland at Hebburn, a township, in the parish of Chillingham, union of Glendale. "There are some remains of an ancient castle, built, and long occupied, by a family which took its name from the village." 1 Now part of the Tyne and Wear county, Hebburn dates back to about 1104-08 when it was first listed as Heabyrn. Literally the place name means "high burial place or tumulus," from the Old English words "heah" + "byrgen." 2 One of the first records of the name was Thomas de Heburn who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Northumberland in 1279. 3

Early History of the Hepburn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hepburn research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1279, 1329, 1550, 1563, 1612 and 1660 are included under the topic Early Hepburn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hepburn Spelling Variations

Although the name, Hepburn, appeared in many references, from time to time, the surname was shown with the spellings Hepburn, Heyburn, Hepborne, Hepbourne, Hepbourn and others.

Early Notables of the Hepburn family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Francis Stewart Hepburn, the 5th Earl of Bothwell (1563-1612), cousin of James VI of Scotland and I of England

Hepburn Ranking

In the United States, the name Hepburn is the 8,733^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Hepburn family to Ireland

Some of the Hepburn family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hepburn migration to the United States +

Gradually becoming disenchanted with life in Ireland many of these uprooted families sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships often arrived with only 60 to 70% of their original passenger list, many dying of cholera, typhoid, dysentery or small pox. In North America, some of the first immigrants who could be considered kinsmen of the Hepburn family name Hepburn, or who bore a variation of the surname were

Hepburn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Hepburn, who landed in Massachusetts in 1636 5

Hepburn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Patrick Hepburn, who arrived in America in 1700 5
Charles Hepburn, who arrived in Cape Fear, North Carolina in 1743 5
Joseph Hepburn, who landed in North Carolina in 1775 5
Thomas Hepburn, who settled in Baltimore in 1792

Hepburn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Hepburn, who arrived in America in 1820 5
Robert Hepburn, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1836 5

Hepburn migration to Australia +

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

Hepburn Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Hepburn, (Winterbourn), English convict who was convicted in Dover, Kent, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Thomas Hepburn, Scottish sawyer who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for life for forgery, transported aboard the "Eden" on 27th August 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Donald Hepburn, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1849 8
Joseph Hepburn (aged 22), a miner, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Eliza"
Isabella Hepburn, aged 19, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "David McIvor"

Hepburn migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Hepburn Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

A Hepburn, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1841
Edward Hepburn, aged 24, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Shamrock" in 1855
Mr. W. Hepburn, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "George Canning" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 28th November 1857 9
Mr. A. Hepburn, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "George Canning" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 28th November 1857 9
Mrs. Hepburn, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "George Canning" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 28th November 1857 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hepburn (post 1700) +

Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston) (1929-1993), born Audrey Kathleen Ruston, British (Belgian born) actress and humanitarian and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Andrew Dousa Hepburn (1830-1921), American academic, President of Miami University and Davidson College
William Peters Hepburn (1833-1916), American Civil War officer and Republican congressman, responsible for the Hepburn Act of 1906
Arthur J Hepburn, American admiral
Katherine Houghton Hepburn (1907-2003), four time Academy Award winning American actress of film, stage, and television 10
William Peters Hepburn (1833-1916), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1860, 1888, 1896; U.S. Representative from Iowa 8th District, 1881-87, 1893-1909 11
William Hepburn, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 5th District, 1866 11
Nan K. Hepburn, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from West Virginia, 1924, 1928 11
Mary Hepburn, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maryland, 1960 11
Lawrence Hepburn, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 2000 11
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Hepburn family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. John David Hepburn (d. 1914), British Fireman from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 12
Master Owen Hepburn (d. 1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13
Mrs. Mary Katharine Hepburn (1877-1914), née Meredith Canadian Second Class Passenger from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13
Miss Barbara Hepburn (1911-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAVID MALCOLM 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849DavidMalcolm.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Katherine Hepburn. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Katherine Hepburn. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Hepburn
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html