The Osborn Name
The Osborn Name
The name Osborn is of Norse origin and the
word means "God-bearer" or "Doer of Good."
Like so many other family names it has been tossed around from
country to country and family to family over the centuries until
there are many variations in the spelling of the name.
The Norse form in the 16th century was Ozbun. Scandanavian spelling
was Aisbiorn or Aasbjorn. Both Osborn and Osborne became prevalent
in England and later in America.
Some of the early members of the family brought the Norse form
Ozbun to America which gradually evolved into Osbon or Osborne.
Either of these forms is now recognized as the proper spelling
by most of the family in this country. Some branches of the family
use one form and some the other and it is not uncommon for both
spellings to appear in the same family. It is found that some
few of the family still use the Ozbun.
In fact the variation in spelling has been such that there are
over 30 known ways in which the name has been spelled, all of
which sound much alike when the name is pronounced:
| Aasbjorn Asbiorn Ashborn Ausborn Orsband Orsbern Orsborn Orsborne Orsbourn Orsbund |
Orsburn Osbern Osbin Osboarn Osbon Osbone Osborn Osborne Osbourn Osbourne |
Osbun Osburn Ozbern Ozbon Ozborn Ozbourn Ozbum Ozbun Ozburn Ozburne Ozsborn |
Adapted from "Mathew Osborn and His Family" by Frederic Verne Osborn
