Show ContentsOgbourne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Ogbourne Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Ogbourne

What does the name Ogbourne mean?

The Ogbourne surname is a habitational name, taken on from either of two villages in Wiltshire called Ogbourne. 1 These place names come from the Old English personal name "Oc(c)a," with the Old English word "burna," meaning a "stream" or "creek." 2

At Ogbourn (St. George), Wiltshire "in 556, a sanguinary battle was fought here between the Britons and the West Saxons, which lasted the whole day, and ended in the total rout of the Britons, and the capture of their neighbouring fortress, BarBerry Castle, in the vicinity of which numerous barrows are still visible. A priory of Benedictine monks, subordinate to the abbey of Bec-Herlowyn, in Normandy, was founded here about 1149; it became the richest and principal cell to that house in England." 3

Early Origins of the Ogbourne family

The surname Ogbourne was first found in Wiltshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 4 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Ogbourn, held by Miles Crispin, a relative of Duke William, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. 4

Early History of the Ogbourne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ogbourne research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1727, 1740, 1750, 1759, 1761, 1765, 1770, 1790, 1814, 1817 and 1853 are included under the topic Early Ogbourne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ogbourne Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ogburn, Ogbourn, Ogeburn, Ogbourne, Okeburn, Okebourn, Ockburn, Ockbourn, Occburn, Ogborn, Oggborn, Ogborne, Oggborne, Oxburn, Oxbourne and many more.

Early Notables of the Ogbourne family

David Ogborne (fl. 1740-1761), English artist, married and settled before 1740 at Chelmsford, Essex, where he is described in the register as a 'painter' or 'limner.' He gained a certain reputation by his portraits of local provincial monsters, such as a winged fish taken at Battle Bridge, and a calf with six legs produced at Great Baddow; but he painted also a portrait of Edward Bright, a grocer of Maldon, Essex, who weighed 43½ stone, and died 10 Nov. 1750, aged 29. 5 Elizabeth Ogborne (1759-1853), English historian of Essex, born at Chelmsford and baptised 16 May 1759, was daughter of engraver...
Another 183 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ogbourne Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ogbourne migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Ogbourne Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • William James Ogbourne, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print

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