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
General Labourer 160
Living On Own Means 122
General Servant Domestic 98
Farmer 94
Cotton Weaver 89
Dress Maker 86
Domestic Servant 65
Scholar 55
Cook Domestic 51
Agricultural Labourer 50
Bricklayer 47
Ordinary Agricultural Labourer 45
Laundress Wash 44
Coal Miner Hewer 40
Farm Labourer 40
Servant Domestic 39
Carpenter 36
Dock Labourer 33
Charwoman 32
Housemaid Domestic 32
Blacksmith 29
House Maid Domestic 27
School 27
Bricklayer Labourer 26
Commercial Clerk 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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