Find out how popular the last name Canby is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Canby.

Canby, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Canby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Canby in America

Canby is the 45959th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Canby surname appeared 464 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Canby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Canby to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Canby

The surname Canby originated in the northern English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is derived from the Old English words "cann" meaning "can" or "cup" and "by" meaning "village." Essentially, the name was originally a locational name referring to a village where cans or cups were made.

The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Cannebi." This suggests that the name was well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. Over time, various spelling variations emerged, including Canneby, Canaby, and Canby.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was John de Canby, who lived in Yorkshire in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Canby, a member of the English gentry who lived during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Canby family established a prominent presence in the city of Bristol, where several members were involved in the wool trade and civic affairs. One such individual was Richard Canby, who served as Mayor of Bristol in 1662.

The Canby surname also found its way to the American colonies, with early settlers including John Canby, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682, and Thomas Canby, who settled in New Jersey in 1677.

In more recent history, notable individuals with the Canby surname include Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (1819-1873), a Union general during the American Civil War, and William C. Canby (1831-1904), a lawyer and politician who served as the Secretary of State for the Territory of New Mexico.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Canby

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Canby.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Canby was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Canby has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Canby was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Canby, please contact us.

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