The English surname Scarbrough is an habitational name from the town of Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, so named from the Old Norse byname Skarði and the Old Norse term borg meaning “ a fortress, or a fortified town.” Early records of the name include Henry de Scardeburgh in 1293 in Lincolnshire, and Johannes de Scardeburgh is recorded in the Poll Tax rolls for the county of Yorkshire in 1379.