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OSBORN Family History

This is a medieval English surname but one of truly ancient 'Viking' origins. The modern surname (in its many spellings) derives from the Norse personal name 'Asbiorn', composed of the elements 'As' meaning 'god' and 'Bjorn', - the bear. The Vikings, as befitted their warlike image, were very keen on names which indicated strength and conquest. The name was found in England well before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and was also recorded in Normandy. Perhaps this is not surprising as Normandy means 'the place of the orsemen', the 1066 Normans being the descendants of the 'land based' Vikings ofthe 8th century, who swept down through Northern Europe.