The Colburn surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,005 people carried this name — #3,564 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,500 people counted. That is up 1% from 9,871 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Colburn surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Colburn» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Colbrand’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Malger Colebrond, Sussex, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Colbran, Colborne, Colbrain, Colbron and Colburn.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 194 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

80 families named Colburn, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 484 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 29
Massachusetts 19
Connecticut 10
Maine 6
Vermont 6
Maryland 6
New York 2
North Carolina 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Colburn in American newspapers,
1915.

Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Colburn
The Montgomery Advertiser 1915-04-18
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Colburn
The Montgomery Advertiser 1915-04-14
Newspaper page from Dakota County Herald carrying the name Colburn
Dakota County Herald 1915-07-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 89,759 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Colburn in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1970s.

1,262 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Colburn. The most, 248, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 511
New South Wales 383
Victoria 160
Tasmania 114
South Australia 60
Western Australia 23
ACT (Canberra) 10

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Colburn.

Who carried it

People named Colburn,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Smith Colburn
    James Smith Colburn 1780–1859
  • Sarah Dunn Prince Colburn
    Sarah Dunn Prince Colburn 1790–1836
  • Sarah Dunn Prince Colburn
    Sarah Dunn Prince Colburn 1791–1836
  • Waldo Colburn
    Waldo Colburn 1824–1885 · judge
  • Henry Colburn 1784–1855 · librarian
  • Henry Colburn 1784–1855 · librarian

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Colburn,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States785 records

785 records of the Colburn name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 370
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 122
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 119
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 85
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 43
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 31
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • Sacramento County historic burials 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Howard F. Colburn

    Born 1912 in Vermont. Enlisted 1942 at Manchester, New Hampshire; machine shop worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Glenwood Cemetery, Littleton, New Hampshire.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Eugene Colburn

    Born 1950; from Hamlin, New York. U.S. Army, unit supply specialist; died in an accident 1971 in Long Khanh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Colburn

    Arrived at New York in 1863 aboard the North American from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 785 records for Colburn in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada259 records

259 records of the Colburn name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 243
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 13
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Edgar Colburn

    Died 1870 in East Branch River Philip, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Colburn

    Died 1934; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record John Colburn

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 259 records for Colburn in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia68 records

68 records of the Colburn name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 45
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 17
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Colburn

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Waverley, arriving 1839; certificate of freedom 1846.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Colburn

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Great Britain, aged 39; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Alinga Colburn

    Left Launceston in 1853 aboard the Vixen, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 68 records for Colburn in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Colburn name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. Colburn

    Corporal, Royal Sussex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Colburn

    Border Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Colburn

    West Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Colburn in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Colburn.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Colburn is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Colburn volume
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