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The name McAmbrose came to England with the ancestors of the McAmbrose family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the medieval given name Ambrose, which was in turn derived from the Latin Ambrosius, which means immortal. 1 2 3
The name Ambrose was extremely popular and spread rapidly because of devotion to Saint Ambrose, who lived during the 4th century and was one of the four Fathers of the Western Christian church.
Some say that this name is descended from the Greek, meaning "immortal or divine," but it is more likely that the name is Norman and is taken from one of the great fathers of the Latin Church. Pierre de Ambroise was the Seigneur of Chaumont in Normandy and was living in 1440, apparently the surviving Norman branch of the family name. This family intermarried with the descendants of King Charles VII of France and is directly descended from Jacqueline, the King's mistress.
"No doubt the fair amount of popularity obtained in England for this fontal name was due to the great St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan." 4
The surname McAmbrose was first found in Norfolk where the Latin form Ambrosius was recorded 1168-1175 at Holme. 5
Almost one hundred years later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included many different early spelling throughout ancient Britain: William Ambroys, Bedfordshire; Robert Ambros , Huntingdonshire; Richard Ambrosie, Huntingdonshire; and Henry Ambreis, Oxfordshire. 4
Later, William Ambroys was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1332. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McAmbrose research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1488, 1499, 1604 and 1662 are included under the topic Early McAmbrose History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Ambroase, Ambrose, Ambross, Ambroyse, Ambrusious, Ambrusius, Ambros, Ambroise, Ambrorrows, Ambroroughs, Ambury, Amburys, Amborows, Ambroraes, Ambesace, MacAmbrose, McAmbrose and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Joshua Ambrose, curator and rector of the Church of West Derby, Lancashire in 1662. 7
Isaac Ambrose (1604-1662), was a Lancashire divine...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McAmbrose Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with McAmbrose name or one of its variants: Mr. Ambrose, who settled in Virginia in 1621; as did Isaack Ambrose in 1635; Joshua Ambrose, who came to New England in 1635; Leonard Ambrose, who arrived in Virginia in 1651.