Thornberry Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Thornberry Family History

Thornberry Family History

The ancient origin of the name Thornberry was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Thornberry include Thornbery, Thornberrie, Thornborough, Tornborough, Tornberry, Thornburg and many others. Over the centuries names were changed according to how they sounded and were pronounced with the same name often being both spelled and pronounced differently in neighboring towns and cities. This name is usually of English locational origin and is taken from places of the name found in Buckinghamshire and Yorkshire. This locational name describes a person who lived near a thorny enclosure near a stream or river. Thornborough in North Yorkshire was originally recorded as Thornebergh in the twelfth century. Other places named Thornbury are found in Devon, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The town charter of Thornbury in Gloucestershire was granted in the year 1252 by Richard de Clare, the Earl of Gloucester and lord of the manor of Thornbury. An early bearer of the name was William Thornburgh who contributed a site for a Chapel in Kendal Parish in Westmorland in the year 1720. The names Thornberry and Thornbury in Ireland are usually of immigrant origin having been introduced into Ulster by settlers from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. It is in the Northern Counties that the majority of descendants bearing this name in Ireland can today still be found.The Thornberry family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Thornberry descendants.