Etymology

Rathbun

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Today it means: A surname. Full definition →

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The story

from Middle English rath (Old English hræth) ‘eager, swift’ + bon (Old English bān) ‘bone’, specifically here the leg bone. In some instances the name was recorded with bayn (Old Norse beinn) ‘bone, leg’ in place of native English ban(e). This form of the surname is now rare in Britain.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.