Ashburn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Ashburn name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in Ashbourne, Derbyshire; in Ashburnham, Sussex; or in Ashburton, Devon. 1

Early Origins of the Ashburn family

The surname Ashburn was first found in Derbyshire, at Ashbourne, a market town in the Derbyshire Dales now famous for its historic annual Shrovetide football match. The first record was found in the Domesday Book where it was listed as Esseburne, having derived from the Old English aesc + burna, meaning "stream where the ash-trees grow." 2

The name dates back to pre-Domesday Book times, when it was known as Aescburnan in 1008. 3

"There can be little no doubt, however, that the Ashburnhams have been seated at Ashburnham from the reign of Henry II, and probably from a much earlier period, and are descended from Bertram, Constable of Dover in the reign or William the Conqueror. " 4

"The manor [of Ashburnham in Sussex], with the exception only of a few years, has been from a time anterior to the Conquest in the continued possession of the noble family of Ashburnham, whose mansion-house here is beautifully situated, and surrounded by a fine park. The church, situated behind Ashburnham House, is a neat cruciform edifice in the decorated English style, with a tower; the south transept contains a gallery for the family, and in the north are handsome monuments to William and John Ashburnham, and their wives." 5

Sifting through early rolls, we found Robert de Assheboume in Devon in 1311 and years later, John de Ascheburn in Yorkshire in 1349. 3

Early History of the Ashburn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ashburn research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1603, 1604, 1628, 1638, 1639, 1659, 1660, 1671, 1679, 1682, 1685, 1689, 1697, 1720 and 1842 are included under the topic Early Ashburn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ashburn Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Ashburn has undergone many spelling variations, including Ashburnham, Asbury, Astbury, Ashburner, Ashbourn, Ashburn, Ashburnam, Ashburham, Ashbourne and many more.

Early Notables of the Ashburn family

Distinguished members of the family include

John Ashburnham (1603-1671), an English courtier, diplomat, politician and an attendant on the King, he managed to regain his ancestral estate of Ashburnham in 1639; and his younger brother, William A...

Ashburn Ranking

In the United States, the name Ashburn is the 6,618^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 6

Ashburn migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Ashburn were among those contributors:

Ashburn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joseph Ashburn, who arrived in New England in 1675 7

Ashburn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Ashburn, who arrived in Annapolis in 1724

Ashburn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Ashburn, aged 43, who landed in Ohio in 1812 7

Ashburn migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Ashburn Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Theodore C. Ashburn, (b. 1854), aged 15, English settler, from Warwickshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Siberia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st February 1870 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Ashburn (post 1700) +

Kristen Ashburn (b. 1973), American Emmy Award nominated photojournalist, known for her work in southern Africa; her work has been featured in The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, and Life, awarded Pictures of the Year Award (2007), Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography (2006), National Press Photographers Association's (NNPA) Best of Photojournalism Award (2007, 2006, 2003)
Justin Ashburn (b. 1981), American NASCAR and ARCA race car driver
Roy Arthur Ashburn (b. 1954), American Republican politician, Member of the California Senate (2002-2010) 9
Don Richard Ashburn (1927-1997), American Major League Baseball player, nicknamed "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey"; he played from 1948 to 1962, inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995
W. R. Ashburn, American politician, Mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1924-28 9
O. A. Ashburn, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for West Virginia State Senate 3rd District, 1934 9
O. A. Ashburn, American politician, Member of West Virginia State Senate 12th District, 1907-10 9

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 5) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html