Washburn (surname)

Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon, Washman, etc.) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influences after the Conquest, as the name evolved.

The surname has several origins in England:

The family, of Norman origin, can be traced through the lands in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire called "Little Washbourne" and "Great Washbourne". Little Washbourne, historically in the parish of Overbury, Worcestershire, and the manor thereon, eventually became known as "Knights Washbourne", for the many from this line that bore that honour. In the Herald's College, London, Vol. I., page 54, is given: Washbourne. "A name of ancient Norman descent; the founder was knighted on the field of battle by William the Conqueror and endowed with the lands of Little Washbourne and Great Washbourne, Counties of Gloucester and Worcester".

The name may have come from the Saxon for "from the flooding brook," with "wash" meaning "swift moving current of a stream," and "burn" referring to a brook or a small stream. It may have originated from the River Isbourne, which flowed near Little and Great Washbourne.

The name was anciently "Wasseburn" or "-born". C. W. Bardsley's Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames states that "Wasse" was anciently and still is a common surname in Yorkshire. It is a place name derived from the various river and sea beaches subject to overflow by floods and tides, hence known as wasses and now as cashes. "Wasseburn" signified a flowing stream. The little ham that stood upon its banks took its name from the stream, and the proprietor or lord of the village was so and so de Wasseborn, just as the parson was the most important person in the parish. The form "Wasseborn" is the form first met with about 1100; and "Wasseborn" or "-burn" continued in common use by the family with the occasional addition of a final "e" until about the middle of the 17th century when the family wrote the name "Washbourne", a form which still prevails in England.

Through all the first two periods, writers of public documents, even of wills, felt themselves at liberty to suit their own convenience or taste in spelling the name, so that great varieties of spelling are found in public documents and varieties in the same document. Thus in the will of John Washburn of Bengeworth, it is "Wassheburns"; in his wife's "Wasborn"; in his son's "Wasburne" and in the inventory "Wasborne"; in the burgess' will "Washborne"; in his wife's "Wasburne" and "Washborne"; in the public registers of Bengeworth pretty uniformly "Wasborne". John the emigrant wrote his name "Washborn". In America three forms of spelling have prevailed - the most common "Washburn", "Washborn", and "Washburne", with even a greater variety of spelling of the name than is found in England, and not always by outsiders.

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