Show ContentsGoldesboroh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Goldesboroh name was originally an Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a goldsmith, or jeweller refiner or gilder. The surname Goldesboroh was also a nickname for someone with bright yellow hair which referred to gold.

Early Origins of the Goldesboroh family

The surname Goldesboroh was first found in Yorkshire at Goldsborough, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Goldsborough Hall, built in the reign of James I., is the property of the Earl of Harewood. 1

The parish dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was recorded as Godenesburg. By 1170, it was known as Godelesburc and literally meant "stronghold of a man called Godel." 2 Today this stately home has been fully restored to its finest glory. In the Church of St. Mary, there are memorials to Richard de Goldsburgh (d.1308) and his son (d.1333), both are effigies of an armoured knight.

Early History of the Goldesboroh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Goldesboroh research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1568, 1584, 1598, 1604, 1606, 1618, 1626, 1691, 1693 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Goldesboroh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Goldesboroh Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Goldesboroh has undergone many spelling variations, including Goldesborough, Goldsbrough, Goldisbrough, Goldsborough and many more.

Early Notables of the Goldesboroh family

Notables of the family at this time include John Goldsburgh, of Godmanchester, Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in 1626. Godfrey Goldsborough (1548-1604), was Bishop of Gloucester, born in 1548 in the town of Cambridge. On 28 Aug. 1598 he was elected bishop of Gloucester, and he was consecrated at Lambeth on 12 Nov. Before leaving London he made a will, dated 7 March 1691, wherein he described himself as 'of Bethnall Green, in the county of Middlesex, knight, being bound on a voyage to the East India beyond the seas in the shipp Berkly Castle'. Not long after his death his widow...
Another 156 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Goldesboroh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Goldesboroh family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Goldesboroh were among those contributors: Thomas Goldsborough who settled in Jamaica in 1686; John Goldsborough settled in Maryland in 1774.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)


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