This ancient place name and surname is Anglo-Scottish. It is locational, and is said to derive chiefly from the town of Blackburn in the county of Lancashire, although there are other minor places, particularly in Scotland, which have given rise to instances of the surname. Blackburn (in Lancashire) is recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 as "Blacheburne", and later in 1187 as "Blakeburn". This placename, and all of the others, share the same meaning and derivation. This is "the dark-coloured stream", from the Olde English pre 7th Century "blaec", meaning black, with "burna", a stream. In Lancashire, the stream from which the town was named is now called the Blackwater. Early examples of the surname recording include: Willelmus de Blakeburne, a charter witness in Lindores in 1243, was the first of the name to be recorded in Scotland, whilst William de Blakburne was abbot of Cambuskenneth in 1394. The will of Edward Blackburne, of Leyland, in Lancashire, was recorded at the Wills Registry in the city of Chester in 1593, whilst Henry Blackburn married Cisley Syddall on May 15th 1575, at Manchester Cathedral. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de Blakeburn. This was dated 1206, in the "Curia Regis" rolls of Lancashire", during the reign of King John of England, 1199 - 1216.

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