Welbourne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Welbourne is a name whose history on English soil dates back to the wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066. The Welbourne family lived in Lincolnshire. Their name is derived from the Old English word welle, meaning well, and the Old Norse word brunnr, meaning stream or spring, and indicates that the original bearer lived near a well by a stream or spring. 1

The Domesday Book of 1086 has three listings: Welborne (Walebruna), Norfolk; Welbourne (Wellebrune), Lincolnshire; and Welburn (Wellebrune), North Yorkshire. 2

Early Origins of the Welbourne family

The surname Welbourne was first found in Lincolnshire where they were Lords of the manor of Welbourn and conjecturally descended from a Norman noble, Robert Malet, who was granted the church and mill by King William the Conqueror in 1066. The ancestry of Robert goes back to Graville near Havre in Normandy in 990, where he was descended from Algar, the seventh Earl of Mercia. 3

Early rolls gave a glimpse at the various spellings in use over the years: Walebrun was recorded in Lincolnshire c. 1155; Robert Walebrun was registered in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296; and John Walebron was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had one entry for the family, that of Hugh de Welleburn, Lincolnshire. 5

Early History of the Welbourne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Welbourne research. Another 42 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1605, 1640, 1697, 1699, 1702 and 1929 are included under the topic Early Welbourne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Welbourne Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Welborne, Welborn, Welbourne, Welburn and others.

Early Notables of the Welbourne family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Welbourne (Welbourn) (executed at York, 1 August 1605), an English Roman Catholic teacher, Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929...
Thomas Wellborn (also: Welbourn, Welbourne, Wellbourne), (1640-1702), served as Captain in the King's Militia, and in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1699 to 1702...

Welbourne migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Welbourne or a variant listed above:

Welbourne Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Sam, Mathew, and Robert Welbourne, who settled in Virginia in 1652
Mathew Welbourne, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 6

Welbourne migration to Australia +

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

Welbourne Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Elijah Welbourne, aged 25, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Marion" 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Welbourne (post 1700) +

S. E. Welbourne, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1908 8
Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne (b. 1957), American slide guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Donald "Don" Welbourne (b. 1949), English former professional footballer
Duncan Welbourne (b. 1940), English former professional football player, coach and manager
Professor Richard Welbourne, British surgeon, University of London

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MARION 1851 - HER HISTORY. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Marion.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html