Claybourn – Claiborne – Clayborn family

Claybourn – Claiborne – Clayborn Family
The family coat of arms and crest
Ethnicity	English American
Current region	United States
Earlier spellings	Cliburn
Etymology	stream by the bank
Place of origin	Cliburn, Cumbria

The Claybourn – Claiborne – Clayborn family is an American family of English origin that spawned a number of leaders in engineering (especially with the Panama Canal), sports, and the law and politics.

The family's ancestral roots trace to Westmorland, where the family held a manor for nearly 400 years, from early in the thirteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth century. In about the middle of the seventeenth century, following the English reconquest of Ireland, some family descendants went to the City of Kilkenny, and many theorize that the American branch primarily descends from these Irish immigrants.

The community of Texico, Illinois, was named by a member of the family with the "C" in that name deriving from "Claybourn".

Ephraim S. Claybourn was the first superintendent of all floating equipment of the United States government's property on the Panama Canal Zone. His nephew, John G. Claybourn, served as civil engineer and Dredging Division Superintendent of the Isthmian Canal Commission and was the original designer of Gamboa, Panama. Another nephew, Vern Claybourn, also held a position of prominence with the canal, making work there a family business of sorts.

Branches of the family are found throughout the United States. Contemporary descendants include lawyers and politicians such as Harry E. Claiborne, Frank Claybourne, Joe B. Jackson, and Joshua Claybourn; prominent engineers such as John G. Claybourn and Ephraim S. Claybourn; and sports figures such as Becky McCumber, Brian Claybourn, and John Hargis. Descendants of the family have formed a society to advance the genealogical study of their lineage.