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Phairbyrne is a name whose history dates far back into the mists of early British times to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes. It is a name for a person with attractive, youthful looks, or someone who was noted as having been a beautiful child. The surname Phairbyrne is derived from the Old English words fair, which means lovely, and bearn, which means child.
However, the name Phairbyrne may also be a local surname applied to someone from the settlement of Fairbourne in Kent or Fairburn in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In this case, Phairbyrne belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
The surname Phairbyrne was first found in North Yorkshire at Fairburn, a small village and civil parish in the Selby district that dates back to before the Domesday Book when it was listed as Fareburne c. 1030. A few years later in 1086, the Domesday Book lists the placename as Fareburne 1 and literally meant "stream where ferns grow," having derived from the Old English fearn + burna. 2
Some of the first records of the family were Augustin and Robert Fayr(e)barn(e) who were listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1297. 3
By the time of the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, spellings were quite varied: Johannes Fayrebame; Willelmus Fairebarn; and Robertus Fayrebarne were all listed there at that time as holding lands. 4
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Phairbyrne research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1297, 1327, 1644, 1680, 1685, 1686, 1688, 1690, 1692, 1693 and 1742 are included under the topic Early Phairbyrne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Phairbyrne has been recorded under many different variations, including Fairbairn, Fairbairns, Fairbarn, Fairborn, Fairborne and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Sir Andrew Fairbairn; and Sir Palmes Fairborne (1644-1680), an English soldier and Governor of Tangier. He was "the son of Colonel Stafford Fairborne of Newark, and probably related to the Yorkshire family of that name." 7
Sir Stafford Fairborne (d. 1742), was Admiral of the fleet and the eldest son of Sir Palmes Fairborne. "In June 1685 Stafford was lieutenant of the Bonadventure at Tangiers, and during the illness of his captain commanded the ship in a successful encounter with some Sallee vessels at Mamora. On 12 July 1686 he was...
Another 98 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Phairbyrne Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Phairbyrne or a variant listed above: Robert Fairbarn landed in 1763. William Fairbarn joined many of his fellow Fairbarns when he purchased land in Philadelphia in 1835.