Osborn Name Origins

 

I made a neat little discovery while working on the Osborn Family Tree post that I wanted to share with everyone. You could consider this a little mini-addendum to that post if you wish. Anyway, let’s look at the origins of the Osborn family name.

 

The surname Osborn is believed to derive from the Old Norse personal first name ‘Åsbjørn.’ Åsbjørn is composed of the words ‘às’ which means ‘god and ‘bjorn’ which means bear: God-Bear. This name found it’s way into Old English as ‘Osbern’ via Normandy, a region of France which gained its name thanks to the ‘Northmen’ aka the Norse or ‘land based’ Vikings in the 9^th century.

 

Amusingly, a major contributing factor in the prominence of the Osborn name from France and England and through the centuries since is the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by an army composed of Betons, Flemish and some from French provinces and, of course, the Normans led by by William the Conquer (as he became known).

It gets even better, as the Norman invaders were opposed by the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold Godwinson. Harold would die during the Battle of Hastings. So, the Norman’s took over from Harold when he died. I know this probably wasn’t intentional, but it’s amusing all the same.

To tie this all back to the comics, let’s recall where Norman goes to hie out and plot during the time he was believed dead following the death of Gwen Stacy: Europe. The origins of the Norman culture and influence was spread throughout the European continent. We know that Norman Osborn arranges for baby May to be found in the care of Philippe DeJunae by Kaine, and that was in La Maison DeJunae which is located in the south of France.

Moving from the old world to the new world now, Osborn’s are known to have settled in the United States as early as the 17^th Century through to the 19^th century. Some even settled in and around New York in the late 1800's. I wonder if one of them was Norman’s great-grandfather Alton Osborn?

 

Anyway, just a bit of real-world history that might help to inform the nature of the Osborn dynasty. It feels appropriate that they are descended from conquerors and invaders and that both ‘Norman’ and ‘Harold’ figure into that history too is wildly amusing to me.

 

Until I stop seeing connections that probably aren’t there, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Normans - Wikipedia

Osborn Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms (houseofnames.com)

Surname Database: Osborn Last Name Origin (surnamedb.com)

Norman Conquest - Knowledge Base, HouseofNames.com