Looking for interpretation of text in parish register please

[Maiden Stone]

You need to have an open mind regarding variations in spellings i.e. if what you've found with what seems to me a very uncommon forename & surname in the correct area then the likelihood of this being your man is very high.

Annie

Christopher was not an uncommon name.  It was a more popular name for boys born in the district 1670-1690 than Charles, Peter or Samuel. It wasn't far behind William (William of Orange was the enemy at one point until he invaded and became the glorious liberator.) Most boys were named John, James, Henry or Richard - there were hundreds of them.

[Rosinish]

MS, I stand corrected

Not too sure if this may help re change of surname?

"The name Horabin is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of the Britain and comes from the name Rabin or Robin, which are pet forms of the personal name Robert. The name is preceded the Old English prefix har, which means gray. Hence, the surname Horabin literally means gray Rabin or gray Robin"

Annie

[Maiden Stone]

Not too sure if this may help re change of surname?

"The name Horabin is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of the Britain and comes from the name Rabin or Robin, which are pet forms of the personal name Robert. The name is preceded the Old English prefix har, which means gray. Hence, the surname Horabin literally means gray Rabin or gray Robin"

Annie

That's interesting.
It was a more common surname than I imagined. I got hundreds of hits on LANOPC.
It was mostly Horrabin in Holcombe, next-door to Haslingden but also Horribein,  Orribin and
Or(r)ibein there. Holcombe registers on LANOPC begin 1730s and there were Horrobin entries from then on. Surprisingly there were none in Edenfield, another adjacent place.

10 spelling variations in Whalley parish. They were in Whalley by 1550s. An interesting baptism there is this:
1669 John Parkinson, illegitimate son of William Horrobin, supposed father and Elizabeth Parkinson.
It may be coincidence, Parkinson being such a common name.

Horrobins were numerous in Bolton parish, a few miles south of Haslingden, and in Deane, adjacent to Bolton.
Other places they turned up in 17thC were Prestwich (geographically a large parish), Radcliffe, Chorley, Blackburn, Padiham, Clitheroe and Brindle.

[Rosinish]

MS,

It is interesting & more interesting with what you've dug up!

Not a name I've ever encountered but as we like to try & help others when/where/if we can, it's interesting (at least for myself) to find things out even if it's of no significance to myself, just the general interest in genealogy & why we're on here really as it all adds to our knowledge or in this case...the lack of 

Annie

[Maiden Stone]

Is it the marriage to Elizabeth Rothwell in 1712 that you think is a possibility?

Elizabeth's abode was Graine. There was no abode for Christopher.
There was a baptism of a Christopher Horabin at St. James, Haslingden in 1692.
Son of John Horrabin.
Abode; Priestentakes.
Notes: BTs has Christopher son of John Horrabin of Grayne
Register: Baptisms 1683-1711; page 15.
Grane is in the west of Haslingden, between 2 and 5 miles from Constable Lee which is on the east side of Haslingden. Grane is bleak moorland.
 Priestentakes isn't a place I recognise.

[Rosinish]

In a word, yes!

I think you may have misinterpreted my contribution?...the combination of both forename & surname (to me) would be unique i.e. my wording may have been wrong in "what seems to me a very uncommon forename & surname" (combined) was what I was trying to emphasise.

The amount of people with that surname is quite a surprise as it's not a 'run-of-the-mill' surname & certainly doesn't shout 'English' or 'British' for that matter i.e. it would be interesting to find it's true origin arriving in England if that's the case?

Annie

[Maiden Stone]

It is interesting & more interesting with what you've dug up!

Not a name I've ever encountered but as we like to try & help others when/where/if we can, it's interesting (at least for myself) to find things out even if it's of no significance to myself, just the general interest in genealogy & why we're on here really as it all adds to our knowledge or in this case...the lack of 

Annie

The surname is familiar to me because I'm an "Archers" addict.

What I find interesting is that not one Horrobin apparently crossed the River Irwell and made it to the village of Edenfield from either direction. They preferred to remain to the west of the river. If they travelled it would have been via packhorse routes over the moors, avoiding boggy ground in the river valley.
I didn't know that har meant grey. It's used in weather forecasts occasionally. I think it's a type of fog. Fog is Old Norse for thick.

[Rosinish]

Being Scottish, I know the word as 'Haar' but yes fog/mist & possibly where the saying 'Scotch Mist' was derived from? & known to me in the 'Highlands' of Scotland, a common occurrence.

Annie

[Maiden Stone]

In a word, yes!

I think you may have misinterpreted my contribution?...the combination of both forename & surname (to me) would be unique i.e. my wording may have been wrong in "what seems to me a very uncommon forename & surname" (combined) was what I was trying to emphasise.

I'll admit - there were very few Christopher Horrobins. Most were John. They didn't like Charles at all. Not surprising since there were a lot of Horrobins in Bolton which was a Parliamentarian town in the Civil War.