Culbert

Culbert is a personal name that seems to have originated in Europe. The earliest records for this surname are found in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The use of surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England, heritable surnames started to form in the 11th century, and were common in most areas by 1400. The poll tax introduced in England in the 14th century (considered a head tax) is probably the first time this common usage of surnames was documented.

Culbert is a personal name that seems to have originated in Europe. The earliest records for this surname are found in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The use of surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England, heritable surnames started to form in the 11th century, and were common in most areas by 1400. The poll tax introduced in England in the 14th century (considered a head tax) is probably the first time this common usage of surnames was documented. Also in Scotland, Culbert is considered a variant of Colbert, derived from the Anglo-Saxon Ceolberht/Ceolbeorht (in Old English, ceol = ship and berht/beorht = bright). They suggest Culbert is a personal name dating from the 700s in England; however, no actual records have been found in England for another 850 years. Also for England, one heraldry-related website claims that Culbert is one of the names of people who migrated there from Normandy following the Norman Conquest, and that Culbert has been found in the Counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Unfortunately, these records also have not been uncovered. The earliest Culbert found in FamilySearch records for Cheshire is William Culbert b. bef. 1706, and for Lancashire is Thomas Culbert b. bef. 1764. The oldest Culbert record found to date anywhere is for Mutton Culbert, who married Alice Legge on 27 Mar 1554 at St. Nicholas, Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The earliest home of a Culbertson (son of Culbert) so far found by Lewis R. Culbertson, is located in the County of Roxburg, Scotland, at a small village named Morebattle, eight miles south of Kelso. Here Culbertson people have reportedly lived continuously since the year 1400 AD. This is in the Lowlands and is about five miles from the Cheviot Hills, which form the boundary between Scotland and England.

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