The origin of the Ebbans name

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: England
Surnames/tags: Ebbans Ebbens Ebbon

Mary Ebbon, an unwed woman, gave birth to Thomas Ebbon at Old Buckenham, Norfolk in 1822. Her surname was also recorded as Ebben, Ebbin and Ebborn in the Overseer's Accounts for the parish.

From the 1841 census onwards, Thomas was recorded in official records as Thomas Ebben.

The only exception occurred when he was recorded as 'Thos Evans' in the 1871 census. Although it's possible the surname was spoken as 'Ebbens', in this case the enumerator seems to have misheard, and recorded the more common surname (Evans), since Thomas and his children continued to be recorded as Ebben in subsequent records.

Adding a final s

A deliberate shift to 'Ebbens' seems to have been initiated by Thomas' son William around 1880. William was still giving his surname without a final 's' in 1875 (his marriage record), but in the 1881 census was recorded as Evans. This may have been a simple error, such as in 1871, except that he actually signs his name as "William Ebbens" 3 years later on his sister Mary Elizabeth's marriage record - despite his sister (and father's name) being recorded as Ebben on the same document. (Mary also continues to give her maiden name as 'Ebben' when registering her children's births.)

From 1881 onwards, William (and his children) consistently use a final 's' (regardless of other spelling variants).

In 1895, William was first recorded on the electoral register as 'William Ebbans' - a spelling which he used consistently until his death in 1926.

Official Ebbans Firsts

The first official birth registration using the spelling 'Ebbans' was William's son, John Ebbans, whose birth was registered in 1896.

The first official marriage registration was William's son Thomas Ebbans in 1904.

The first official death registration was William's granddaughter (daughter of the above Thomas), Elizabeth Ebbans in 1907.

(Note: The earliest 'Ebbans' record was the baptism of Levi Ebbans, son of paper-maker Robert and Elizabeth Ebbans of Spittlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire on the 14th of March 1818. He appears to be unrelated.)