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

Kirby Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Kirby family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 1,737
Agricultural Labourer 209
General Labourer 147
Domestic Servant 98
Farmer 91
Dress Maker 77
Labourer 71
Cotton Weaver 70
Coal Miner 68
Farm Labourer 65
General Servant Domestic 65
Living On Own Means 61
General Servant 58
Farm Servant 49
Living On Her Own Means 48
Laundress 42
Gardener 39
Blacksmith 39
Joiner 39
House Keeper 37
Tailor 30
Cook Domestic Servant 28
Clerk 28
Shoe Maker 26
Grocer 25

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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