The Selby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,908 people carried this name — #3,008 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 24,800 people counted. That is up 3% from 11,533 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Selby surname

A habitational surname from Old Norse.

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

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

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 676 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

25 people named Selby live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 11
Aargau 7
Geneva 4
Fribourg 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Selby was found among the farmers of Nottinghamshire: 12 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

Nottinghamshire 12

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 the first U.S. census, 1790

66 families named Selby, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 373 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Selby, Selbe, Selbey. 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

Maryland 50
North Carolina 8
Connecticut 5
Massachusetts 1
Virginia 1
South Carolina 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. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Selby in American newspapers,
1893–1897.

Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Selby
The Portland Daily Press 1893-06-24
Newspaper page from New Iberia Enterprise carrying the name Selby
New Iberia Enterprise 1897-04-10
Newspaper page from New Iberia Enterprise carrying the name Selby
New Iberia Enterprise 1897-04-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 131,216 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Selby in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

28,071 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Selby. The most, 4,474, date from the 1930s. 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 Western Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 9,765
Victoria 5,738
Queensland 4,413
Western Australia 3,543
South Australia 2,507
Tasmania 1,860
ACT (Canberra) 153
Northern Territory 20

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

Who carried it

People named Selby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Clara Selby
    Clara Selby d. 1873 · stage actor
  • William Selby d. 1426 · politician
  • Richard Wilfrid Selby d. 1659 · religious writer
  • John Selby d. 1595 · large estate owner
  • William Selby d. 1892 · cricketer
  • Edith Selby d. 1930

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 Selby,
in the records of 7 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 States855 records

855 records of the Selby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 396
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 164
  • Other U.S. records 295
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert B. Selby

    Born 1937; from Baltimore, Maryland. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    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 William B. Selby

    Born 1919 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; sales clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1981, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1875 aboard the Scythia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 37; matron. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 855 records for Selby 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia644 records

644 records of the Selby name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 399
  • Tasmanian Names Index 121
  • Other Australian records 124
  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 Joseph Selby

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Aurora, sailing from Downs in 1835. Native of Mogerhanger, Bedfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848. Married 1848 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 31.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Ritchie Selby

    Died 1889 in Gordon, Tasmania, aged 45. Will registered in Tasmania in 1889.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Charles Selby

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842. Married 1842 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 27.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 644 records for Selby 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada58 records

58 records of the Selby name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 37
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • Other Canadian records 14
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record S.w Selby

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Quebec, bound for Rosseau, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Arnold M. Selby

    Died 1919 in Wolfville, Kings, Nova Scotia.

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

    Buried in 1987 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

Showing 3 of 58 records for Selby 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 Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom26 records

26 records of the Selby name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 15
  • Stirling Council burial records 6
  • Other British records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Elizabeth Selby

    Died 1901, aged 76; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Henry Selby

    Will proved in 1938; of Neath.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. G. Selby

    West Yorkshire 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 3 of 26 records for Selby in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand6 records

6 records of the Selby 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 Ada Selby

    Died 1916, aged 73; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Barbara Cormack Selby

    Died 1999, aged 76; buried at Avonhead Memorial Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Selby

    Died 1964, aged 84; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Selby in New Zealand.

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).

France6 records

6 records of the Selby 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 Marie Selby

    Born 1913 in Lyon (Rhône); died 1987 in Orléans (Loiret).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Leonard Selby

    Born 1907 in Atur; died 1983 in Boulazac (Dordogne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marthe Selby

    Born 1914 in Atur; died 1998 in Atur (Dordogne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Selby in France.

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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Selby name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Johanna Selby

    Baptised in 1612 in Bergen op Zoom.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Selby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Selby 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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