Robbison History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The earliest origins of the name Robbison date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxons. The name is derived from the baptismal name Robin, which was the diminutive of the personal name Robert. Patronymic surnames arose out of the vernacular and religious given name traditions. 1 2 3

Early Origins of the Robbison family

The surname Robbison was first found in Yorkshire, where one of the first records of the name was John Robynson who was on record in 1324 in the Court Rolls of the manor of Wakefield. Years later in Lancashire, we found Richard Robynson listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Lancashire in 1332. 4

Later again, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Roger Robynsoun; Roger Robyn-man (the servant of Robin); and Adam Robyn-man (the servant of Robin), 1370. 5

The surname is "distributed all over England, except in the south - west, where it is either absent or extremely rare. Its great home is in the northern half of the country, the numbers rapidly diminishing as we approach the south of England. Northamptonshire may be characterised as the most advanced stronghold of the Robinsons on their way to the metropolis." 6

Further to the north in Scotland, early entries are rare, so one can presume the name migrated there at some point: "the tenement of John Robynson in Irvine is mentioned in 1426, and another John Robynsone was bailie of Glasgow in 1477. Andrew Robersoun witnessed the sale of a tenement in Arbroath in 1450. The name was common in Glasgow in the sixteenth century." 7

Early History of the Robbison family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Robbison research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1566, 1576, 1584, 1585, 1610, 1614, 1615, 1625, 1629, 1645, 1655, 1660, 1662, 1667, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1680, 1684, 1686, 1689, 1700, 1701, 1705, 1708, 1712, 1717 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Robbison History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Robbison Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Robbison include Robinson, Robenson, Robbison, Robbinson, McRobin and others.

Early Notables of the Robbison family

Distinguished members of the family include Nicholas Robinson (Died 1585) Welsh Bishop of Bangor, born at Conway in North Wales; and his son, Hugh Robinson (1584-1655), Welsh Archdeacon of Gloucester, born in Anglesea; Clement Robinson (fl. 1566-1584), an English song-writer and editor; John Robinson (1576-1625), known as the "Pilgrim Pastor," who was the first pastor and inspiration to the church of the Pilgrim Fathers; Luke Robinson (c 1610-1669), of Riseborough, an English Member of Parliament and of the Council of State during the Commonwealth period; Ralph...
Another 85 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Robbison Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Robbison family to Ireland

Some of the Robbison family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 159 words (11 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Robbison migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Robbison or a variant listed above:

Robbison Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Peter Robbison, who landed in Maryland in 1668 8

Robbison Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Robbison, who arrived in Virginia in 1702 8

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)