Show ContentsCheesburgh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestry of the name Cheesburgh dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in Cheshire, a county in the northwest of England on the border with Wales. It is from the name of the county that the family name is derived. The name meant "a dweller in a town in Cheshire." This is because the suffix -borough indicated residence in a town.

However, one source disagrees. Reaney claims the name is from Cheeseburn, Northumberland, originally known as Cheseburgh in 1286. 1 Today Cheeseburn Grange survives near Stamfordham, Northumberland (Newcastle upon Tyne) and was the traditional home of the Widdringtons.

Early Origins of the Cheesburgh family

The surname Cheesburgh was first found in Lincolnshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Cheesburgh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cheesburgh research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1427, 1430, 1431, 1526, 1594, 1611, 1649 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Cheesburgh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cheesburgh Spelling Variations

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 Cheesburgh have been found, including Chesbrough, Cheesebourgh, Cheesbrough, Cheseborough, Chesebrough and many more.

Early Notables of the Cheesburgh family

Notables of this surname at this time include: David Cherbury or Chirbury (fl. 1430), Bishop of Dromore, a Carmelite friar, possibly a member of the Oxford house of his order, since he is recorded to have built its library. "He was made Bishop of Dromore, probably in 1427, but he must have...
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cheesburgh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cheesburgh family

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 Cheesburgh, or a variant listed above: William Cheesebrough who settled in Boston Massachusetts and later moved to Salem, with his wife Anne, daughter Sarah, and three sons, Peter, Samuel, and Nathanial, in 1630..



  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook