The Libby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,631 people carried this name — #3,360 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 27,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 10,375 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Libby surname

A surname originating as a matronymic.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Libby» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Isabel’.

His entry covers Libby, Libbie and Libbey.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 481 · public domain.

In print

Libby in American newspapers,
1889–1915.

Newspaper page from The Florida Agriculturist carrying the name Libby
The Florida Agriculturist 1905-11-22
Newspaper page from The Citizen carrying the name Libby
The Citizen 1915-06-11
Newspaper page from The Camden Journal carrying the name Libby
The Camden Journal 1889-03-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 250,863 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Libby in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2000s.

1,347 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Libby. The most, 304, 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 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 581
New South Wales 281
Queensland 132
Western Australia 107
South Australia 92
Tasmania 68
ACT (Canberra) 56
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Libby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles Libby
    Charles Libby 1844–1915 · lawyer
  • Tom Libby d. 2022
  • Luther Libby 1806–1871 · merchant
  • Francis Orville Libby 1814–1873 · businessperson
  • Arthur Albion Libby 1831–1899 · businessperson
  • Charles Perly Libby Sr. 1838–1895 · businessperson

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 Libby,
in the records of 4 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 States899 records

899 records of the Libby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 421
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 160
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 154
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 81
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 44
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 32
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 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 James O. Libby

    Born 1910 in Maine. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; weaver from Franklin County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1986, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    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 H. Libby

    Born 1946; from Portland, Maine. U.S. Army, cannon fire direction specialist; died of wounds 1968 in Binh Duong, 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 Biddy Libby

    Arrived at New York in 1849 aboard the Roscius from Liverpool, aged 11; laborer. From Louth, Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 899 records for Libby 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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).

Australia77 records

77 records of the Libby name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 54
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 13
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George Libby

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Liguria, aged 20; 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 George Libby

    Builder of Hawthorn, Victoria; died 1908.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Cyrus Libby

    Left Hobart in 1851 aboard the Henry Harbeck, bound for California, as master.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 77 records for Libby 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) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada30 records

30 records of the Libby name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 17
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Lawrence Earl Libby

    Died 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    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 Frank Herbert Libby

    Buried in 1998 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  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 Francis Lewis Libby

    Died in service in 1945.

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

Showing 3 of 30 records for Libby 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. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Libby 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 L. O. Libby

    Rifle Brigade. 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 F. Libby

    Devonshire 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Libby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Libby 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 Libby volume
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