Holborough History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Holborough is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the region of Holbrook in Suffolk. The surname Holborough originally referred to a "sunken stream"or "hollow brook", "brook in a hollow" in Old English. 1

"Holbrook is an ancient surname in the east of England. As Holebrok, we found it six centuries ago in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, and also in Northamptonshire. There are parishes, etc., named Holbrook in the counties of Derby, Warwick, Gloucester, Dorset, and Sussex." 2

Early Origins of the Holborough family

The surname Holborough was first found in Suffolk at Holbrook, a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Samford or at Holbrook in Derbyshire, a chapelry, in the parish of Duffield, union of Belper, hundred of Appletree. Both locations are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Holebroc. 3 Literally, the place name means "hollow brook", "brook in a hollow," from the Old English words "hol" + "broc." 1

"Holbrook Hall is a fine old mansion, surrounded with 300 acres of land" 4 built in the 17th century. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include some of the first entries for the family: William de Holebrok, Lincolnshire; Richard de Holebrokke, Suffolk; and Roger de Holebrokke, Nottinghamshire. 5 Kirby's Quest listed Isota Holebrok, in Somerset, temp. 1 Edward III. 6 Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed William Holbroke. 5

Early History of the Holborough family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Holborough research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1189, 1412, 1413, 1418, 1421, 1437, 1622 and 1635 are included under the topic Early Holborough History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Holborough Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Holborough family name include Holbrook, Holbrow, Holbrooks, Holbroake and many more.

Early Notables of the Holborough family

Distinguished members of the family include John Holbrook (d. 1437), Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, a native of Suffolk. He was educated at Peterhouse, of which he became a fellow in 1412; during the same year took holy orders, receiving...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Holborough Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Holborough family

For 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 Holborough surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Thomas Holbrook settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1630; Charles Holbrick settled in Washington, Maryland in 1798; Anne Holbrooke settled in Barbados in 1654.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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.