An English, Irish and Scottish surname, Osborn comes from the Old Norse term of ‘asbiorn’ which refers to a god bear. An early English spelling was Osbern. The spelling variations for Osborn include Osborne, Osbourne, Osbern, Osbourn and Osburne. In England the Osborn surname is all across the country and into parts of Wales. The heaviest populated regions with Osborn names is the city of London, Essex, Kent and Northamptonshire. In Scotland the Osborn name is concentrated in Perthshire, Lanarkshire, and into Renfrewshire and Midlothian. Within the United States the early Osborn families settled in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio and Indiana. Famous: Laughton Osborn (19th century writer), Paul Osborn (screenplay writer and theater playwright), Henry Fairfield Osborn (paleontologist), Francis Conrad Osborn Sr. (inventor of numerous cash register models, founded Osborn Cash Register Co., Ltd.), Alex Faickney Osborn (author) and John Robert Osborn (Canadian hero at the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941).