Mewburn

This is an English locational surname which may be associated with the lost village of Mewsbrook or possibly Mulu-burna, near Littlestone in the county of Sussex. The place name and later the surname, may derive from the pre 7th century 'malu' meaning a gravel ridge, and 'burna', later 'broc', a stream. The surname is recorded in a myriad of spellings, in itself evidence of a 'lost' village, as there was no 'public' spelling to which to tie the surname. It has to be appreciated that education only became available nationally in Britain in the last century, before that all writing was left to clerics, some good, some not so good. Since surnames were first created in the 12th century, and through the many centuries since, local dialects were extremely thick, few could write their own name, and even fewer were able to spell. In this case spellings of the surname include Mewburn, Mewburne, Meaborne, Maborn and Mawborne, whilst the early recordings include William Mawborne, a witness at the church of St Margarets, Westminster, on February 19th 1570, Peter Maborne, who married Alicia Cooke at All Hallows, London wall, on July 20th 1675, and William Newburne, a witness at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on January 31st 1696.