Ferbaourn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

The name Ferbaourn is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. Ferbaourn was a name used for a person with attractive, youthful looks, or someone who was noted as having been a beautiful child. The surname Ferbaourn is derived from the Old English words fair, which means lovely, and bearn, which means child. However, the name Ferbaourn may also be a local surname applied to someone from the settlement of Fairbourne in Kent or Fairburn in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In this case, Ferbaourn belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Ferbaourn family

The surname Ferbaourn was first found in North Yorkshire at Fairburn, a small village and civil parish in the Selby district that dates back to before the Domesday Book when it was listed as Fareburne c. 1030. A few years later in 1086, the Domesday Book lists the placename as Fareburne ^[1] and literally meant "stream where ferns grow," having derived from the Old English fearn + burna. ^[2]

Important Dates for the Ferbaourn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ferbaourn research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1297, 1327, 1644 and 1680 are included under the topic Early Ferbaourn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ferbaourn Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Ferbaourn include Fairbairn, Fairbairns, Fairbarn, Fairborn, Fairborne and many more.

Early Notables of the Ferbaourn family (pre 1700)

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

Migration of the Ferbaourn family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Ferbaourn were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Robert Fairbarn landed in 1763. William Fairbarn joined many of his fellow Fairbarns when he purchased land in Philadelphia in 1835.

Citations

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)