| ![Show Contents]() Esterbrook History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England The English name Esterbrook is topographic in origin; that is, it was originally derived from geographic features of the region in which the first bearer of the name lived. The Middle English "Easter," meant "east," and the name meant "someone who lived to the east of the brook." Early Origins of the Esterbrook familyThe surname Esterbrook was first found in Somerset where they held a family seat. The first on record appears to be John le Eastbrook, who is mentioned in a volume called "Kirby's Quest for Somerset," as living in that county during the reign of Edward III, the Confessor (1042-1066). 1 The Saxon influence on English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066: the language of the courts was French for the next three centuries, but Saxon names survived. Early History of the Esterbrook familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Esterbrook research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1254, 1296 and 1327 are included under the topic Early Esterbrook History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Esterbrook Spelling VariationsOne relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Esterbrook has appeared include Eastbrook, Eastbrooke, Estabrooke, Easterbrook, Estbrook, Estbrooke, Eastbroke, Estabroke, Eastabroke, Estabroke and many more. Early Notables of the Esterbrook familyMore information is included under the topic Early Esterbrook Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Esterbrook familyAt this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Esterbrook arrived in North America very early: Jacob Eastbrooke, a servant who was sent to a plantation in Barbados in 1660; Volintine Easterbrooks, who sailed from Newport, Rhode Island, to Falmouth, Nova Scotia in 1760.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Esterbrook (post 1700) | + |
- Charles Esterbrook, American software developer who created Cobra, a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language
- Richard Esterbrook (1812-1895), American, Cornish-born Quaker from England who founded Esterbrook, a brand of fountain and ballpoint pens, at one time the largest pen manufacturer in the United States
- Thomas John "Dude" Esterbrook (1857-1901), American Major League Baseball player who played from 1880 to 1891 for the Buffalo Bisons and the Brooklyn Grooms
- Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
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