Ogbourne, Ogborn, Ogburn - this study focuses on the origins of the name and history of people using the name including variations.  It is clear that the spelling over the name in centuries including up to say 1900 is not especially significant – the same person can often be seen in records with more than one spelling of the name.  Before the 17^th Century the spelling of the name with a K instead of G was usual.  e.g.Okeborne

As a relatively uncommon name seeking historical accounts of the name is more practical, through our website www.ogbourne.com There is a clear link of the name to the Ogbourne villages – Ogbourne St George, Ogbourne St Andrew and Ogbourne Maisey near Marlborough in Wiltshire. Following the Norman invasion of England in 1066 Ogbourne St George became the base (The Bailiwick of Ogbourne) which managed the income on properties in the south of England on behalf of the Abbey of Bec Hellouin in Normandy. This came to an end in 1414 when King Henry V suppressed of the ‘alien priories’.

Pockets of Ogbournes have cropped up in southern England, some with interesting accounts of family achievements – e.g. The Championship Somerset  Ploughmen,  and in the USA The African American Ogburns, and we have sought to provide accounts of such achievements.  Ogbournes were amongst the earliest immigrants to North America,  especially in Virginia and what is now Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and many Americans trace their family histories to those people.

Genealogy- the provision of genealogical information especially in the UK and USA is an important aim and our website carries useful information for genealogists in England, the USA and other countries. 

Initial research in England began in 1978 – the study editor John Ogbourne was born in the small Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett, some 8 miles from the Ogbourne villages.  Tracing John’s family tree was rather straightforward as 12 generations could be found in the Parish Registers for Wootton Bassett, and show Ogbournes in the town as far back as the 16^th Century.

Contact was established in the 1990s with Ogbournes and Ogburns in the USA where there already existed studies into the origins of the name in England and America, and information exchange has continued since then.

January 2020 - we now have a Facebook page where we welcome comments and information. https://www.facebook.com/ogbourneogburn/

In very early records the name is found as Ocheburne, Okebourne, de Okebourne, and de Ockeburn. E.g. 1277 William de Ockeburn is listed as a juror, 1322 Margery de Okebourne is included in the tax lists for North Marston, Wilts.

The representatives of the Bailiwick of Ogbourne were required to travel over much of southern England in their duties, and it seems likely that they were known as 'de Okeburn or Ockeburn'€ as the villages were then known.