The name Wilburne arrived in
England after the
Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wilburne family lived in
Lincolnshire. Their name is derived from the Old English word
welle, meaning
well, and the Old Norse word
brunnr, meaning
stream or spring, and indicates that
the original bearer lived near a well by a stream or spring.Early Origins of the Wilburne family
The surname Wilburne was first found in
Lincolnshire where they were Lords of the manor of Welbourn and conjecturally descended from a Norman noble, Robert Malet, who was granted the church and mill by King William the Conqueror in 1066. The ancestry of Robert goes back to Graville near Havre in
Normandy in 990, where he was descended from Algar, the seventh Earl of Mercia.
Early History of the Wilburne family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wilburne research.
Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1605, 1929, 1640, 1702, 1699 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Wilburne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wilburne Spelling Variations
A multitude of
spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to
England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Welborne, Welborn, Welbourne, Welburn and others.
Early Notables of the Wilburne family (pre 1700)
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas Welbourne (Welbourn) (executed at York, 1 August 1605), an English Roman Catholic teacher; Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929. Thomas Wellborn (also: Welbourn, Welbourne, Wellbourne), (1640-1702), served as...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wilburne Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Wilburne family to Ireland
Some of the Wilburne family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 74 words (5 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 Wilburne family to the New World and Oceana
Many English families left
England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Wilburne or a variant listed above: Sam, Mathew, and Robert Welbourne settled in Virginia in 1652.