On the origin of the name "Pemberton"

The introduction of the book Pemberton Pedigrees has the following to say about the origin of the surname...

The family of Pemberton undoubtedly derive their name from Pemberton in Lancashire. This is described[1] as “a populous and extensive township, containing the manufacturing village of Lamberland Green. The Manor before and after the Conquest was one of the berewicks, or members, of the Manor of Newton-in-Makerfield, and is now claimed by the Leighs of Lynne, Haydock, etc, in right of their ancestors. The old ‘Pemberton Hall’ is now scarcely remembered.” Since 1904 Pemberton has been taken into the civil parish of Wigan. The Normans took their names from places, just as the Saxons gave their names to places, and so one of the Norman families came to be known about the twelfth century as “de Pemberton,” “de Penberton,” or “de Penbreton.” As the place-name is antecedent to the family name it seems natural to accept the most obvious derivation - “Pember’s tun,”[2] or village, but other suggestions have been made. One is that it stands for Pen-berton, i.e., the “berton” or walled-in-farm, on the “pen” or hill-top[3].

Another[4] would derive it from Pen Celtic for “head” or “hill,” beorh or bre, which also mean “hill,” and tun or “town,” i.e., “the town at the head of the hill.” - This, however, involves an awkward pleonasm. The last suggestion[5] is “Pin-bearu-tun” or “the pinegrove farmstead.”

[1] E. O. Baines’ History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancashire, and Victoria History of Lancashire.
[2] Pendburh is an A.S. fem. name (Harrison)
[3] The late Mr. Henry Pemberton, of Philadelphia, U.S.A.
[4] Wyld and Hurst. “Place Names of Lancashire.”
[5] Henry Harrison. “Place Names of Liverpool District,” and “Surnames of the U.K.”

The village of Pemberton has long been absorbed into the surrounding urban areas, and (administratively, at least) is now part of Greater Manchester. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemberto...

See this previous blog post for more about Pemberton Pedigrees: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...