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Black's "The Surnames of Scotland" entry for FAIRBAIRN posits that it is a "metathesis for Frebern" and mentions a correspondent of Rev. Robert Wodrow in 1705 spelling the name indifferently as 'Farbairn' and 'Freebairn'.
Stephen Fairburn, burgess of Berwick on Tweed, held the hostelry of the abbot and convent of Arbroath in Dundee a. 1327. A James Forbrayne, admitted burgess freeman of Glasgow, 1601 may be an erroneous spelling.
Other variants he notes are Faribarne 1536 and ffairbairne 1646.
Under FREEBAIRN he mentions (amongst others):
We are therefore not particularly fussy about whether you are a FAIRBAIRN, a FAIRBURN or a FREEBAIRN, or any other variant you think relates, even accepting the more English FAIRCHILD, (it turned up in some American descendants of Scottish FAIRBAIRNs with family stories of desertion from the army).
If you came to this page because you are interested in FAIRBAIRN (& variant surnames) family genealogy, then some of you may have already "met" me in the course of your own research.
The DNA project began in Oct 2007, and eventually grew.
FAIRBAIRN data with dna connections is in various forms on several sites:
Stephen Fairburn, burgess of Berwick on Tweed, held the hostelry of the abbot and convent of Arbroath in Dundee a. 1327. A James Forbrayne, admitted burgess freeman of Glasgow, 1601 may be an erroneous spelling.
Other variants he notes are Faribarne 1536 and ffairbairne 1646.
Under FREEBAIRN he mentions (amongst others):
- Robert FREBORN or FREBERN making a gift of two carucates to the Abby of Neubotle c 1150 and witnessing the grant be Serlo, clericus regis, to the Abbey of kelso.
- About 1153 Radulf FREBERN had a grant from Malcolm IV;
- Walter FREBERN witnessed a charter by Hugh, cancellarius regis, to the Abbey of Arbroath;
- Robert son of Robert FREBORN, witnessed a charter of the third part of Lambertun c 1190-1200;
- Robert, son of Robert FREBERN, witnessed a charter by David, son of Tructe in favour of Kelso Abbey c 1200; John FREEBURN in Polkem, parish of Livingstone, 1702;
- Charles FREEBAIN a racksman of Persabus, Islay 1780
We are therefore not particularly fussy about whether you are a FAIRBAIRN, a FAIRBURN or a FREEBAIRN, or any other variant you think relates, even accepting the more English FAIRCHILD, (it turned up in some American descendants of Scottish FAIRBAIRNs with family stories of desertion from the army).
If you came to this page because you are interested in FAIRBAIRN (& variant surnames) family genealogy, then some of you may have already "met" me in the course of your own research.
The DNA project began in Oct 2007, and eventually grew.
FAIRBAIRN data with dna connections is in various forms on several sites:
- Official FamilyTreeDNA results in the results links
- Supplementary Pages on DNA Surnames,
- and for researched lineages / analysis of instances of the FAIRBAIRN name see the Fairbairn One Name Study.