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

Derby, 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 Derby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Derby in America

Derby is the 5921st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Derby surname appeared 5,822 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Derby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Derby 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 Derby

The surname Derby originated in England, deriving from the place name Derby, which is a town in Derbyshire in the East Midlands region. The name Derby is believed to have evolved from the Old English words "deor" meaning deer and "by" meaning town or village, indicating that the area was likely known for its deer population.

The earliest recorded mention of the place name Derby can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Derebise." This suggests that the surname Derby may have been in use by the late 11th century, as surnames began to emerge and become hereditary around this time.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Derby was Robert de Derby, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199. The "de" prefix indicates that he hailed from the town of Derby itself.

In the 13th century, Roger de Derby, a wealthy landowner, was noted in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1284. Around the same time, John de Derby, a cleric, was recorded in the Patent Rolls of 1292.

During the 14th century, the surname Derby appeared in various records, including the Poll Tax of Yorkshire in 1379, which listed Richard Derby and John Derby.

One of the most notable individuals with the surname Derby was Thomas Derby, a 15th-century English merchant and diplomat. Born around 1430, he served as a merchant adventurer and was later appointed as an ambassador to the Duchy of Burgundy.

In the 16th century, Edward Derby, a renowned English actor and playwright, was born in 1542. He is credited with co-authoring several plays with the famous dramatist Thomas Norton.

The surname Derby has also been associated with various place names and their older spellings, such as Derbys, Darbys, and Darby, which may have contributed to the variations in the surname over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Derby

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

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 Derby 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 Derby 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 Derby was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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