This interesting surname is of English locational origin from either "Yarborough" or "Yarburgh", both villages in Lincolnshire. Both placenames were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Gereburg" and are composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century elements "earth" meaning earth plus "burh" a fortress or stronghold; hence "earth fortifications". This surname is a good example where regional and dialectal differences have produced variations in the spelling of the name. Locational names were originally given as a means of identification to those who left their village or place of origin to settle elsewhere. The surname first appears in the latter half of the 13th Century (see below). One John de Yerbury appears in "Kirby's Quest for Somerset" (1327). In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Yarborough, Yarbrough, Yerburgh, Yarboro, etc. On February 25th 1637, Thomas, son of Francis Yerbury, was christened at St. Giles' Church, Cripplegate, London, and the marriage of Jane Yerbury and Richard Davis took place at St. Margaret Moses Church, London, on May 22nd 1659. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert de Yerdeburc, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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