Show ContentsBilbrough History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The lineage of the name Bilbrough begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Bilbrough, a village near Tadcaster in the county of Yorkshire. The place name appears in the 11th century in the Domesday Book of 1086: "In Bilbrough, Christchurch, 8 carucates of land taxable. Land for 4 ploughs. Richard (son of Arnfastr) has there one plough; and 6 villagers and 2 smallholders with 2 ploughs. Woodland pasture in places. The whole, 1 league long and a half wide. Value before 1066, 44s; now 22s."

Early Origins of the Bilbrough family

The surname Bilbrough was first found in Yorkshire, at the village of Billbrough where despite the village's long history back to the Domesday Book, 1 has a population of only 319 accordingly to the 2001 census. The toponym Bilborough is composed of the Old English personal name Bille and "burh" meaning "stronghold, fortress". 2

One of the earliest references to this name or to a variant is Richard de Bilburgh, molendarius (miller), who is listed in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York in 1379. 3

Early History of the Bilbrough family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bilbrough research. Another 302 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1219, 1308, 1379, 1500, 1567, 1619, 1632, 1867 and 1885 are included under the topic Early Bilbrough History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bilbrough 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 Bilbrough has undergone many spelling variations, including Bilbrough, Bilbrow, Bilborough, Billeburg, Bilburgh, Bilburg, Bilbery, Billbrey and many more.

Early Notables of the Bilbrough family

More information is included under the topic Early Bilbrough Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Bilbrough 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 Bilbrough were among those contributors:

Bilbrough Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Bilbrough who arrived in Virginia in 1650
  • William Bilbrough, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 4
Bilbrough Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Joseph Bilbrough, aged 27, who landed in New York in 1812 4
  • Joseph Bilbrough, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1828

Contemporary Notables of the name Bilbrough (post 1700) +

  • Graham Robert Bilbrough (b. 1958), English singer
  • Harold Ernest Bilbrough (1867-1950), the fourth Anglican Bishop of Dover
  • Norman Bilbrough (b. 1941), New Zealand short story writer
  • Walter Bilbrough, Canadian corporate executive

RMS Lusitania
  • Mr. George William Bilbrough, Canadian 2nd Class passenger from Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 5


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. 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)
  5. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/


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