surname, also Osborne, Osbourn, Osbourne, etc., a Scandinavian name (Old Norse Asbiorn, Old Danish Asbiorn) meaning literally "god-bear," from os "a god" (see Oscar) + the Germanic word for "bear" (see bear (n.)). The name is found in England before the Conquest, perhaps directly from Scandinavia; it also was common in Normandy and was brought over from thence.