The Irby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,506 people carried this name — #3,138 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,600 people counted. That is up 4% from 11,040 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Irby surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: William de Irreby, Yorkshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 419 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

31 families named Irby, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 179 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Virginia 23
South Carolina 5
North Carolina 2
Rhode Island 1

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. 247 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Irby in American newspapers,
1897–1930.

Newspaper page from The Topeka State Journal carrying the name Irby
The Topeka State Journal 1897-07-06
Newspaper page from New Britain Herald carrying the name Irby
New Britain Herald 1930-09-08
Newspaper page from The Daily Sentinel carrying the name Irby
The Daily Sentinel 1910-08-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 46,489 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Irby in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

4,316 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Irby. The most, 1,355, 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 Tasmania, at 3.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,024
Tasmania 1,086
Queensland 406
Victoria 340
Western Australia 255
South Australia 189
ACT (Canberra) 8
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Irby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Augusta Priscilla Irby d. 1849
  • Anthony Irby d. 1684
  • Anthony Irby d. 1552
  • Beryl Mayman d. 2011
  • Frances Anne Irby d. 1895
  • Emma Irby d. 1890

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

In the public record

People named Irby,
in the records of 3 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 States599 records

599 records of the Irby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 400
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 147
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 24
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 16
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald Reece Irby

    Born 1949; from Houston, Texas. U.S. Army, central office switchboard operator; killed in action 1968 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Thomas W. Irby

    Born 1924 in Georgia. Enlisted 1943 at Los Angeles, California; elevator operator. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1990, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Homer Foster Irby

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Born 1931, died 2001; buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 599 records for Irby in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia43 records

43 records of the Irby name in Australia
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 18
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. 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 Irby

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Recovery, arriving 1819.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Meryl Rae Irby

    Retired of Noble Park North, Victoria; died 1998.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Gilb Irby

    Arrived in Victoria in 1894 aboard the Australasian, aged 37.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 43 records for Irby in Australia.

Counts: Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · 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: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Irby name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Julie Irby

    Born 1912 in Gros-Morne; died 2000 in La Trinité (Martinique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Irby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Irby 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 Irby volume
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