The ancestry of the name Burnabee dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in Barnby Hall, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name of that place is derived from the Old English personal name Beornwald, which comes from the words beorn, meaning young warrior, and wald, meaning rule. [1] Today, Barnby is also a village and civil parish in the Waveney district of Suffolk.
The surname Burnabee was first found in Yorkshire, where the earliest record is at Barnby Hall, in the parish of Calthorne, in the east riding of Yorkshire. [2] "The township anciently belonged to a family of the same name; mention occurring of Robert de Barneby, who held the lands under Peter de Mauley, lord of Mulgrave." [3]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists: Richard de Barneby in Yorkshire; and Henry de Barneby in Lincolnshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Thomas de Barmby; and Thomas de Barnby. [4]
Barnby in the North Riding of Yorkshire was an ancient family seat. "The township anciently belonged to a family of the same name; mention occurring of Robert de Barneby, who held the lands under Peter de Mauley, lord of Mulgrave." [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burnabee research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1000 and 1550 are included under the topic Early Burnabee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Burnabee have been found, including Barneby, Barnby, Barnaby, Bernaby, Burnaby and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Burnabee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Burnabee, or a variant listed above: John Barnabie who settled in Virginia in 1620; James Barnaby who settled in Virginia in 1640; Sarah Barnaby who settled in Virginia in 1640.