Newburn Family History

English: habitational name from Newburn in Northumberland or Newbourn in Suffolk. Early forms of the former suggest variation between Old English burna ‘spring stream’ and burg ‘fortified place’ though burg is perhaps more likely to be behind the original placename as it seems more appropriate with the first element Old English nīwe ‘new’.

However, Newbourne in Suffolk does derive from Old English nīwe ‘new’ + burna ‘spring stream’ with influence from the cognate Old Norse brunnr perhaps denoting a stream that had changed its course.