Show ContentsYarboro History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Yarboro is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in either the parish or the hamlet called Yarborough in the county of Lincolnshire. The surname Yarboro belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Yarboro family

The surname Yarboro was first found in Lincolnshire at Yarbourgh or Yaburgh, in the hundred of Louth-Eske. The name was listed as Gereburg in the Domesday Book 1 and literally means "the earthwork, or the fortification built of earth" derived from the Old English word "eorth-burgh" 2 "The living [of Yarborough] is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 13. 6.; net income, £226; patron, Nicholas Edmund Yarburgh, Esq., of Heslington Hall, near York, who is lord of the manor, and owner of half the parish." 3

Early History of the Yarboro family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Yarboro research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1066 is included under the topic Early Yarboro History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Yarboro 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 Yarboro family name include Yarburgh, Yarborough, Yearbugh, Yerburgh, Yearby and others.

Early Notables of the Yarboro family

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Yarboro Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Yarboro family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Yarboro surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Richard Yarbrough who arrived in Virginia in 1714; John Yerby who settled in Maryland in 1744; John Yarbrough who settled in Nova Scotia in 1749; and Swanson Yarbrough who settled in Texas in 1832..


Contemporary Notables of the name Yarboro (post 1700) +

  • Leora Tesche Yarboro, American Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Virginia
  • Dr. Theodore Yarboro (b. 1932), American physician in Sharon Pennsylvania


The Yarboro Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Non est sine pulvere palma
Motto Translation: The palm is not obtained without toil.


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  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.


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