The Colby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,278 people carried this name — #3,204 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,200 people counted. That is up 2% from 11,023 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Colby surname

A habitational surname from Old Norse.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Colby» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Colby’.

An early record he cites: William de Colebi, Westmorland, 1176 — Pipe Rolls of Cumberland, Westmorland and Durham.

His entry covers Colby and Coleby.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 194 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

153 families named Colby, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 840 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 97
Massachusetts 33
Maine 15
Vermont 6
New York 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Colby in American newspapers,
1879–1920.

Newspaper page from The New Bloomfield, Pa. Times carrying the name Colby
The New Bloomfield, Pa. Times 1879-07-22
Newspaper page from The Chickasha Daily Express carrying the name Colby
The Chickasha Daily Express 1906-08-01
Newspaper page from The Mt. Sterling Advocate carrying the name Colby
The Mt. Sterling Advocate 1920-02-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,693 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Colby in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

4,349 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Colby. The most, 1,789, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,092
Queensland 921
South Australia 850
Victoria 837
Western Australia 293
Tasmania 213
ACT (Canberra) 107
Northern Territory 12

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Colby.

Who carried it

People named Colby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mary Colby
    Mary Colby d. 1774
  • Thomas Colby d. 1588 · politician
  • Gertrude Kline Colby d. 1960 · educator
  • John Colby d. 1640
  • Anne Colby 1531–
  • Ezekiel Colby 1739–1791

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Colby,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,179 records

1,179 records of the Colby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 415
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 297
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 195
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 121
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 71
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 53
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 12
  • Sacramento County historic burials 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edward L. Colby

    Born 1930; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1952 in North Korea. Buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Fred W. Colby

    Born 1902 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; construction worker from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1965, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johanna Colby

    Arrived at New York in 1860 aboard the Excelsior from Liverpool, aged 24; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,179 records for Colby in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia81 records

81 records of the Colby name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 63
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Colby

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Gloriana, aged 19; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Edward Colby

    Retired boilermaker of Armadale, Victoria; died 1963.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Ellen Colby

    Died 1927 in Wynyard, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 81 records for Colby in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada25 records

25 records of the Colby name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 17
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Earl Nelson Colby

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 52.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Warren Colby

    Died 1971 in Windsor, Hants, Nova Scotia, aged 87.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Ivor Milo Colby

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 25 records for Colby in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Colby name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. C. Colby

    King's Royal Rifle Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. W. Colby

    Norfolk Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Colby name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Carl Colby

    From Bremen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 5 October 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 75).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Colby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Colby is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Colby volume
Scroll to Top