Hello,
The family name Westbury/Westberry/Westborough originates from the usage of a placename stating origin. It has both pauper and rich land owning routes, which are in fact different genetic families. A number of places called Westbury exist. These include:
Westbury - Wiltshire
Westbury - Shropshire
Westbury - Somerset
Westbury upon trym - Gloucestershire
Westbury sub mendip - Gloucestershire
etc...
Not only had towns and villages given families the Westbury surname, but so has property. An example of this is the Westbury Manor in Kent, Now burnt down, generating a well off Westbury family that seemed to survive for a period before disappearing. other examples include the barony of Westbury, Lord Westbury, which is currently held by a Bethell family. other anglocisations of other nationals from other countries have also occured in both the UK and English speaking ex-colonies such as Canada, USA, Australia, etc... This includes converting such names as, for example: Westburg. Also other places have been called Westbury, such as Westbury in New York. This confuses the tracing of the origins of this surname.
There have been a number of movements of the name. As such, a pauper line can be seen to originate from the Gloucestershire and Bristol area, a rich family line covering the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire area, migrants into London from the European continent have taken / been given the Westbury family name, such as Germans and Swedes. Also after the second world war Jewish migrants took the surname and settled prodominantly in London. Further to this, freed slaves have taken / been given the Westbury surname as their own. All this has broughta multi-ethnicity to the Westbury / Westberry surname. Both free and forced migration has taken the Westbury surname to every continent on the planet, with sizable populations in America, Australia and Africa. The total population carrying the surname stands at roughly 15000 people world wide, making it both interestingly diverse and rare.
Nick westbury