Show ContentsRaimbaud History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Raimbaud family

The surname Raimbaud was first found in Gloucestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Rainbertus Flandrensis who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. The name was later recorded in Middlesex.

Early History of the Raimbaud family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Raimbaud research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1587, 1608, 1610, 1639, 1642, 1648, 1673 and 1684 are included under the topic Early Raimbaud History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Raimbaud Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Rainbird, Raynbird, Rambart, Rambert, Ramart, Rainbold, Rainbow, Rainbold, Renbold, Rainbaud, Rinbalt, Reinbald, Rainbald, Renbald and many more.

Early Notables of the Raimbaud family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir William Rainsborough (ca.1587-1642), an English Captain and Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy, English ambassador to Morocco; William Rainsborowe (fl. 1639-1673), or Rainsborough, Rainborough, Rainborowe or Rainbow, a Leveller and an officer in the English Navy and New Model Army in England during the English Civil War and the Interregnum, settler to...
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Raimbaud Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Raimbaud family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Raimbaud or a variant listed above were: Ann Bressan Rembert, who settled in South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1700; William Rainbow, who arrived in Maryland or Virginia in 1671; Edward Rainbow, who settled in Maryland in 1671.



  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)


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