The Kerby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,345 people carried this name — #7,643 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 68,000 people counted. That is up 12% from 3,891 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kerby surname

Variant of Kirby.

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

An early record he cites: Adam de Kyrkeby, Yorkshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Kirkby, Kirby, Kerbey and Kerby.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 455 · public domain.

In print

Kerby in American newspapers,
1877–1910.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Kerby
Daily Kennebec Journal 1910-05-18
Newspaper page from The Southern Herald carrying the name Kerby
The Southern Herald 1910-07-01
Newspaper page from American Citizen carrying the name Kerby
American Citizen 1877-11-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 16,207 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kerby in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

3,182 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kerby. The most, 702, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,126
New South Wales 849
Queensland 491
Tasmania 317
South Australia 209
Western Australia 186
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Kerby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Marion Kerby
    Marion Kerby 1877–1956 · actor
  • Edwin Kerby
    Edwin Kerby 1885–1971 · politician
  • Charles Kerby-Miller d. 1791 · professor
  • Constance Mary Newell d. 1954
  • Thomas Norbury Kerby 1758–1819 · lawyer
  • Archibald Kerby 1796–1843

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kerby,
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 States522 records

522 records of the Kerby name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 181
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 124
  • Other U.S. records 217
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Cecil F. Kerby

    Born 1914 in Michigan. Enlisted 1942 at Detroit; driver from Benzie County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Michigan.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Umbria from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 45; matron. From Belfast, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Martin John Kerby

    Born 1943; from Sacramento, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 522 records for Kerby in the United States.

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

Australia200 records

200 records of the Kerby name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 97
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 36
  • Other Australian records 67
  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 Michael Kerby

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mangles, arriving 1826; ticket of leave 1834.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Helen Lindsay, aged 30; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Edwin J. T. Kerby

    Enlisted in 1914 with the 8th Battalion. Honoured on the Ballarat Avenue of Honour.

    City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU)

Showing 3 of 200 records for Kerby in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Canada43 records

43 records of the Kerby name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 24
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 7
  • Other Canadian records 12
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Hannah Kerby

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Clinton, bound for Annapolis and St Johns, aged 25.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Abbott Kerby

    Buried in 1977 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 89.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  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 Joseph Kerby

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 43 records for Kerby in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand19 records

19 records of the Kerby name in New Zealand Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph Frederick Kerby

    Died 1975, aged 78; buried at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Kerby

    Died 1879, aged 45; buried at Tararu Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Kerby

    Died 1933, aged 57; buried at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 19 records for Kerby in New Zealand.

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Kerby name in the United Kingdom
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Kerby

    Buried in 1805 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 50.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Kerby

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

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

Showing 2 of 4 records for Kerby in the United Kingdom.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kerby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kerby 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.

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