Kirby Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Kirby Name Meaning: From Old Norse 'kirkja' meaning church & 'byr' meaning settlement - in other words a village with a church

Name for people from many places in northern England called Kirby or Kirkby. Early records refer to an ecclesiastic by the name of John Kirkby. He frequently acted as keeper of the seal during the reign of Henry 111 & was appointed Bishop of Ely in 1286 - a post he held until his death on 26 March 1290.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Anglesey 0
Bedfordshire 0
Buckinghamshire 160
Brecknockshire 3
Berkshire 0
Carnarvonshire 0
Cambridgeshire 122
Cardiganshire 0
Channel Islands 11
Cheshire 24
Carmarthenshire 0
Cornwall 1
Cumberland 17
Derbyshire 43
Denbighshire 0
Devon 6
Dorset 3
Durham 70
Essex 127
Flintshire 0
Glamorgan 11
Gloucestershire 138
Hampshire 78
Herefordshire 1
Hertfordshire 120
Hunts and Rutland 103
Isle of Man 2
Kent 176
Lancashire 614
Leicestershire 257
Lincolnshire 140
London 691
Middlesex 87
Merionethshire 0
Montgomeryshire 0
Monmouthshire 2
Northumberland 5
Norfolk 137
Northamptonshire 203
Nottinghamshire 20
Oxfordshire 173
Pembrokeshire 0
Radnorshire 0
Shropshire 11
Suffolk 49
Somerset 14
Surrey 28
Sussex 58
Staffordshire 66
Warwickshire 184
Westmorland 9
Wiltshire 38
Worcestershire 26
Yorkshire 1189

Kirby Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Kirby family

Profession Census Frequency
Agricultural Labourer 319
Female Servant 241
Farmer 103
Independent 100
Labourer 89
Male Servant 80
Shoe Maker 44
Tailor 24
Ag Labourer 23
Blacksmith 19
Gardener 17
Silk Weaver 16
Weaver 15
Carpenter 14
Pauper 14
Butcher 14
Ag Lab 14
Brick Maker 13
Painter 13
Apprentice 12
Linen Weaver 12
Mariner 12
Laundress 11
Publican 11
Joiner 11

Most Frequent Forenames for Kirby

Name Census Frequency
William Kirby 5,165
Mary Kirby 4,685
John Kirby 4,473
Thomas Kirby 3,015
Elizabeth Kirby 2,965
George Kirby 2,520
Sarah Kirby 2,491
James Kirby 2,116
Ann Kirby 1,768
Henry Kirby 1,535
Jane Kirby 1,421
Charles Kirby 1,396
Joseph Kirby 1,252
Alice Kirby 1,211
Ellen Kirby 1,105
Robert Kirby 1,093
Annie Kirby 1,083
Emma Kirby 975
Edward Kirby 967
Eliza Kirby 940
Margaret Kirby 867
Frederick Kirby 838
Richard Kirby 828
Arthur Kirby 813
Alfred Kirby 803

Kirby Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Kirby 100% 75,626
2 Kerby 80% 7,997
3 Kerbey 67% 641
4 Karby 80% 608
5 Curby 60% 299
6 Kirbey 83% 233
7 Kriby 60% 209

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The surname Kirby is the most popular version of all its varients

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