Show ContentsScarburg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestry of the name Scarburg dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the county of Yorkshire, where they held the manor of Scarborough. This place-name was originally derived from the Old English Skaroisburg, which was brought into England during the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Early Origins of the Scarburg family

The surname Scarburg was first found in North Riding of Yorkshire at Scarborough, a borough, markettown, and parish. 1

"The origin of this town has not been satisfactorily ascertained: it is supposed to have derived its name from the Saxon Scear, a rock, and Burgh, a fortified place. The earliest authentic record of it is a charter of Henry II., conferring certain privileges on the inhabitants; and in the reign of Henry III., a charter was granted for making a new pier at Scardeburgh, as the place was then called." 2

Some of the family were found further north in Scotland in early years too. "Nicholas de Scardbrow witnessed charters by Willelmus de Hawoc, burgess of Perth, c. 1245 and Roger de Scardtheburge was clericus domini regis, c. 1272. Robert de Scardeburgh was parson of the church of Conington in 1295. " 3 But this latter source notes that the name was indeed from Yorkshire.

Sir Robert de Scorburgh (d. 1340), was Baron of the Exchequer and "derived his name from Scorborough in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He is no doubt the Robert de Scorburgh of Beverley to whom there are some references in 1320 to 1322. At his death he is described as possessing the manor of Scoreby, together with property in Stamford Bridge and Etton. " 4

Early History of the Scarburg family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scarburg research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1584, 1615, 1616, 1617, 1635, 1642, 1645, 1646, 1671, 1693 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Scarburg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarburg Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Scarburg have been found, including Scarbrough, Scarboro, Scarborough, Scasbridge, Scarbrow, Scarburg, Scarburgh, Scarsbridge and many more.

Early Notables of the Scarburg family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Sir Charles Scarburgh (1616-1694), was an English physician, son of Edmund Scarburgh, gentleman, of the parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London. 4


United States Scarburg migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Scarburg, or a variant listed above:

Scarburg Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John and Thomas Scarburg, who settled in Virginia in 1652


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. 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)
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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