The Overby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,311 people carried this name — #5,512 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,700 people counted. That is down 1% from 6,354 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Overby surname

Borrowed from Danish Overby or Norwegian Øverby.

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

In the Nordic population registers

1,032 people named Overby are counted in Norway and Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers.

Counted, by country

Norway (2025) 938
Sweden (2022) 94

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Overby in American newspapers,
1903–1927.

Newspaper page from Przewodnik Katolicki carrying the name Overby
Przewodnik Katolicki 1920-12-24
Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Overby
South Bend News-times 1927-06-11
Newspaper page from The Freeman carrying the name Overby
The Freeman 1903-07-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 15,257 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Overby in Australian newspapers,
1950s–1960s.

36 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Overby. The most, 28, date from the 1950s.

Articles, by state

Queensland 14
Western Australia 9
New South Wales 8
South Australia 3
ACT (Canberra) 1
Victoria 1

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

Who carried it

People named Overby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dagmar Overby
    Dagmar Overby 1887–1929 · serial killer
  • Sigurd Overby
    Sigurd Overby 1899–1979 · cross-country skier
  • Ulrich Peter Overby 1819–1879 · poet
  • Marion Overby 1909– · artist
  • Ankes Jul Overby 1914–1986 · university teacher
  • Howard Overby 1915–1990 · lawyer

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 Overby,
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 States378 records

378 records of the Overby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 233
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 95
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 22
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 20
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Howard L. Øverby

    Born 1920 in Virginia. Enlisted 1944 at Camp Lee; driver from Halifax County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Halifax Memorial Gardens, South Boston, Virginia.

    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 Hans Øverby

    Arrived at New York in 1880 aboard the Neckar from Bremen, aged 22; laborer. From Norway.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Charlie R. Overby

    U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War. Born 1933, died 1987; buried at Hampton Memorial Gardens, Virginia.

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

Showing 3 of 378 records for Overby 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Norway356 records

356 records of the Overby name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Petter Øverby

    Census of 1910: Øverby (gaard), Hole; farmer, born 1849 in Hole.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Helge Øverby

    Census of 1910: Kollen, Skoger; farmer, born 1851 in Sigdal.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Emilie Øverby

    Census of 1910: søndre Glomstad, Aamot; "mellempike", born 1895 in Aamot.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 3 of 356 records for Overby in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Overby name in Canada
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Pamela Linda Rae Overby

    Died 1975; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. 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 Carl Oscar Overby

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Arthur Overby

    Died 1984; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Overby in Canada.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Overby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Overby 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 Overby volume
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