The Hornsby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,267 people carried this name — #4,850 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,700 people counted. That is up 1% from 7,164 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Hornsby surname

A habitational surname from Old Norse.

From places in England, from genitive singular of the Old Norse given name Ormr (“serpent”) + býr (“settlement”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hornsby» (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 Hornby’.

His entry covers Hornby and Hornsby.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 398 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Hornsby was found among the farmers of Northamptonshire: 15 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northamptonshire 15

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Hornsby in American newspapers,
1926.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Hornsby
Daily Kennebec Journal 1926-12-23
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Hornsby
Daily Kennebec Journal 1926-10-11
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Hornsby
Daily Kennebec Journal 1926-10-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,159 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hornsby in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

7,779 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hornsby. The most, 1,421, date from the 1910s. Victoria 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 Western Australia, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 2,222
New South Wales 1,865
Western Australia 1,236
South Australia 1,177
Tasmania 759
Queensland 456
ACT (Canberra) 37
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Hornsby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Frank Haultain Hornsby d. 1935
  • Charlotte Hornsby d. 1880
  • Mary Ann Hornsby d. 1906
  • Thomas Hornsby 1704–1771
  • Thomasine Forster Coulson 1705–1775
  • Thomas Hornsby 1733–1810 · astronomer

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hornsby,
in the records of 6 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 States416 records

416 records of the Hornsby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 244
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 75
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 34
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 29
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 20
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Leonard S. Hornsby

    Born 1917 in Alabama. Enlisted 1945 at Fort McClellan; filling station attendant from Marshall County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Edgewood Cemetery, Arab, Alabama.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John R. Hornsby

    Born 1947; from Paducah, Kentucky. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph Hornsby

    Arrived at New York in 1881 aboard the Scythia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 22; laborer. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 416 records for Hornsby in the United States.

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

Australia276 records

276 records of the Hornsby name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 93
  • Tasmanian Names Index 85
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 51
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 31
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 9
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 6
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Marryatt Hornsby

    Married 1858 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 26. Died 1903 in Tasmania, aged 72.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record George Hornsby

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Maitland, arriving 1840; ticket of leave 1846.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Dorothy Hornsby

    Arrived in Victoria in 1909 aboard the Moravian, aged 34.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 276 records for Hornsby in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada32 records

32 records of the Hornsby name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 20
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Eva Covey Hornsby

    Buried in 1959 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 82.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frederick James Hornsby

    Died 1949 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    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 John William Hornsby

    Died in service in 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 32 records for Hornsby in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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 Kingdom19 records

19 records of the Hornsby name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 18
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. Hornsby

    Leicestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    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 J. O. Hornsby

    Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

    Duke of Wellington's Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 19 records for Hornsby in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Hornsby name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Charles B. Hornsby

    Died 1899, aged 45; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Hornsby name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elsie May Hornsby

    Married in 1939 in Haarlem.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hornsby.

When the index is not enough

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

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