The darby Surname
darby Name Meaning and History
- English: habitational name from the city of Derby, the county seat of Derbyshire, but also from the much smaller place called West Derby in Lancashire. Both are named from Old Norse djúr ‘deer’ + býr ‘farm’, ‘settlement’. The usual spelling of the surname represents the pronunciation of both the place name and the surname.
- Irish: adopted as an English equivalent of Gaelic Ó Diarmada (or Mac Diarmada) ‘descendant (or ‘son’) of Diarmaid’, a personal name meaning ‘freeman’. See also Dermott, Macdermott. Insofar as Gaelic Ó Duibhdhiormaigh was sometimes reinterpreted as Ó Diarmada, Darby could also be an Anglicization of this name too. The English surname is also established in Ireland, having been taken to County Leix in the 16th century.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
14–Day Free Trial
Search for darby records
More resources for your darby family history
Darby message board
Threads: 406 - Messages: 1035
| Thread | Author | Replies |
| Ohio Darby''s | Roger L. Stevens | 17 |
| Francis Derby, Eganville to Massey Ontario |
 GailDarby91
| 0 |
| Elizabeth Ann Darby Kier of Gentry MO |
dscotth57
| 0 |
| Darby,George. Michigan | Dotty | 6 |
| Anna L. DARBY d. 17 May 1915 - Kansas City, KS |
| 0 |
| DARBY -- LUTON / DUNSTABLE U.K. | ulrich schubert | 2 |
| DARBEY _ Opal Jane (Prevost), (August 29, 1914 - February 14, 2000). | obit@hotmail.com | 3 |
| Maryland Darbys English Ancestors | janet | 6 |
| Darby, Williams, Litteral |
SueChapell
| 0 |
| Darby's in Canada | Abigail | 11 |
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The darby name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the darby family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the darby last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
- Find out how to get help from other Ancestry members through this tutorial.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.co.uk for all of your darby ancestors.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.co.uk homepage.