Show ContentsGoldborough History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Goldborough

What does the name Goldborough mean?

The name Goldborough has been recorded in British history since the time when the Anglo-Saxons ruled over the region. The name is assumed to have been given to someone who was a goldsmith, or jeweller refiner or gilder. The surname Goldborough was also a nickname for someone with bright yellow hair which referred to gold.

Early Origins of the Goldborough family

The surname Goldborough was first found in Yorkshire at Goldsborough, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Goldsborough Hall, built in the reign of James I., is the property of the Earl of Harewood. 1

The parish dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was recorded as Godenesburg. By 1170, it was known as Godelesburc and literally meant "stronghold of a man called Godel." 2 Today this stately home has been fully restored to its finest glory. In the Church of St. Mary, there are memorials to Richard de Goldsburgh (d.1308) and his son (d.1333), both are effigies of an armoured knight.

Early History of the Goldborough family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Goldborough research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1568, 1584, 1598, 1604, 1606, 1618, 1626, 1691, 1693 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Goldborough History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Goldborough Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Goldborough has been spelled many different ways, including Goldesborough, Goldsbrough, Goldisbrough, Goldsborough and many more.

Early Notables of the Goldborough family

Notables of the family at this time include John Goldsburgh, of Godmanchester, Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in 1626. Godfrey Goldsborough (1548-1604), was Bishop of Gloucester, born in 1548 in the town of Cambridge. On 28 Aug. 1598 he was elected bishop of Gloucester, and he was consecrated at Lambeth on 12 Nov. Before leaving London he made a will, dated 7 March 1691, wherein he described himself as 'of Bethnall Green, in the county of Middlesex, knight, being bound on a voyage to the East India beyond the seas in the shipp Berkly Castle'. Not long after his death his widow...
Another 156 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Goldborough Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Goldborough migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Goldboroughs to arrive in North America:

Goldborough Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Nicholas Goldborough, who landed in Maryland in 1678 3


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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