This most interesting surname is one of the many variant surnames of Scandanavian origin which derive from the Old Norse, Old Danish and Old Swedish personal name "Thorbiorn",composed of the divine name "Thorr", the name of the God of Thunder in Scandanavian mythology and "-bjorn", a bear , which was anglicised as"Thurbeorn", meaning Thor-warrior. Other variants of the surname in the modern idiom include Thurban, Thurbon, Thurburn, Thorburn, Thoburn, Turbin and Tarbin. The personal name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Thurbernus, Turbern and Torbern, while Thomas filius Thurberni was recorded, circa 1153, in the Records of St. Benet of Holme, 1020 - 1240 (Norfolk). One William Thurnbern was mentioned in 1221 in the Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire, and Richard Thurubern was noted in Norfolk in 1277, in the "Book of Ely". Ricardus Torbrand was provost of Aberdeen in 1330, and Matt Thulbourn married Margaret Sater on July 7th 1572, at the Church of St. Giles, Norwich, while Elizabeth Thulborn was christened at St. Andrew's, Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, on June 14th 1751. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Turbern, which was dated 1198, "The Feet of Fines of Norfolk", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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