| ![Show Contents]() Colbrane History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The origins of the name Colbrane are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the Old Norse personal name Kolbrandr and the Old Swedish forename Kolbrand. The names Colbrand and Colebran appeared in the Domesday Book survey of 1086. 1 Many Scandinavian personal names were left in the British Isles as a legacy of the Viking raids which plagued the coastal regions of Britain from the 8th to 10th centuries, and many of these eventually became Anglo-Saxon surnames. Early Origins of the Colbrane familyThe surname Colbrane was first found in Sussex where the family 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. Colbrand (Colbron) was a legendary giant from English folklore. Some sources claim he was a Viking giant. According to legend, Guy of Warwick defeated him to prove his love for Lady Felice. The legend dates back to at least the 13th century and was even popular into Shakespearean times when he mentions Colbrand in Henry VIII and King John. By the 18th century, Colbrand became a nickname for someone of considerable size or strength. Colban, Earl of Fife ( c. 1247-1270) was ruler of Fife in Scotland. He was the son of Earl Malcolm and his wife Elen ferch Llywelyn and succeeded his father while still a teenager on Malcolm's death in 1266. Early History of the Colbrane familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colbrane research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1544, 1571, 1572, 1597, 1600, 1627, 1640, 1664, 1667, 1785, 1806 and 1815 are included under the topic Early Colbrane History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Colbrane Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Colbrane family name include Colbrond, Colbron, Colbrand, Colbran and others. Early Notables of the Colbrane familyNotables of this surname at this time include: James Colbrand (c. 1544-1600), of Chichester, Sussex, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Ludgershall in 1571 and 1572 and for Appleby 1597. Continuing the line was Sir John...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Colbrane Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Colbrane familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Colbrane surname or a spelling variation of the name include: William and his wife Marjorie Colbron who settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1630.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
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England
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