Helbron History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancestors of the name Helbron stretch back to a family in the Boernician tribe of ancient Scotland. They lived in Durham but moved northward in 1329 to Chillingham in Northumberland, where they lived in the village of Hebburn in the parish of Chillingham. 1

Early Origins of the Helbron family

The surname Helbron was first found in Northumberland. Thomas de Heburn was on record in the Assize Rolls for that county in 1279. 2

They prospered here from 1271 until the 18th century, when the family line ended with an heiress. Adam de Hepburn (de Hylburne) was the first of the line. 3

One version of the tale goes that Hepburn was a prisoner of the Earl of March, who freed him and granted him lands for 'good and faithful service' after he saved the Earl's life from a feral (wild) horse. These lands were in East Lothian and the family spent the next several centuries aggressively acquiring new lands. 3

Early History of the Helbron family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Helbron research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1432, 1467, 1479, 1483, 1497, 1508, 1512, 1513, 1522, 1536, 1556, 1563, 1568, 1578, 1598, 1612, 1636, 1637 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Helbron History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Helbron Spelling Variations

Spelling rules only evolved in the last few centuries with the invention of the printing press and the first dictionaries. Spelling variations are extremely common in names from before that period. Helbron has been spelled Heighborne, Haybourne, Haybourn, Haybirn, Haybyrne, Heighburn, Heighbyrne, Heighbirn, Hepboyrne, Hepbirn, Hepbyrne, Hepburn, Heighbourne, Heyburn, Hebborne, Hebbourne, Hebbirn, Hebbyrne, Hebboorne and many more.

Early Notables of the Helbron family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes (c. 1432-1479), Sheriff of Berwickshire (1467); Sir Patrick Hepburn of Dunsyre, 1st Lord Hailes (died 1483) was the feudal lord of Hailes and its castle in Haddingtonshire and a Lord of Parliament; Patrick Hepburn, Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Lord Hailes and 1st Earl of Bothwell (died 1508), Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He was the eldest son of Adam, second lord Hailes, and Helen, eldest daughter of Alexander, first lord Home. 4 Patrick Hepburn third Earl of Bothwell (1512?-1556), was the only son of Adam, second earl of...
Another 210 words (15 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Helbron Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Helbron family to Ireland

Some of the Helbron family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Helbron family

After making their great crossing, many Boernician-Scottish families settled along the east coast of North America. When the War of Independence broke out, United Empire Loyalists moved north to Canada while the rest stayed to fight. The ancestors of many of these Scots still populate the continent. This century, through Clan societies and other Scottish organizations, they began to rediscover their collective national heritage. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Helbron or a variant listed above: George, Anne, Rebecca, and Anna Hepborne, who all arrived in Boston in 1635; Thomas Hepburn, who settled in Baltimore in 1792; and Francis Hepbourne settled in Maryland in 1769..

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print