Find out how popular the last name Melby is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Melby.
A habitational surname derived from places in Denmark and Norway, likely referring to a farmstead or village.
Melby, 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 Melby surname is from the 2010 census data.
Melby is the 11411th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Melby surname appeared 2,762 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Melby.
We can also compare 2010 data for Melby 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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 11411 | 11437 | -0.23% |
Count | 2,762 | 2,527 | 8.89% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.94 | 0.94 | 0.00% |
The surname Melby has its origins in Scandinavia, specifically Norway. It is believed to have originated as a place name, referring to a farm or hamlet located near the town of Meløy in the county of Nordland. The name itself is derived from the Old Norse words "mel" meaning "sand" and "øy" meaning "island," suggesting that the original settlement was situated on a sandy island or near the coast.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Melby can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomatic documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, a person named Thorstein Melby is mentioned in a document from the year 1303, suggesting that the name was already in use by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the Melby name appeared in various records and manuscripts, often associated with individuals from the northern regions of Norway. For instance, a man named Olav Melby was listed as a landowner in the Sunnfjord region in the 14th century.
As people migrated and settled in different parts of Scandinavia and beyond, the Melby name spread to other regions. In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Peder Melby (1520-1588) was a Lutheran minister and theologian who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Denmark.
Another notable individual with the Melby surname was Hans Melby (1618-1693), a Norwegian merchant and ship owner who was instrumental in establishing trade routes between Norway and the Netherlands during the 17th century.
In the 19th century, Niels Melby (1820-1892) was a Norwegian poet and novelist known for his works that depicted life in rural Norway. His contemporary, Edvard Melby (1838-1911), was a respected historian and archivist who made significant contributions to the preservation of Norwegian historical records.
One of the earliest known instances of the Melby name appearing in a place name is the village of Melby in the municipality of Alstahaug, located in Nordland county, Norway. This village likely derives its name from the original settlement that gave rise to the surname.
While the Melby surname has its roots in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, the majority of individuals bearing this name can trace their ancestry back to the coastal regions of northern Norway, where the name originated centuries ago.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Melby.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Melby was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 95.26% | 2,631 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 0.87% | 24 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.34% | 37 |
Hispanic Origin | 2.10% | 58 |
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 Melby has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 95.26% | 96.72% | -1.52% |
Black | 0.87% | 0.87% | 0.00% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Two or More Races | 1.34% | 0.55% | 83.60% |
Hispanic | 2.10% | 1.46% | 35.96% |
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 Melby was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/melby-surname-popularity/">Melby last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Melby last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/melby-surname-popularity/.
"Melby last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/melby-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024
Melby last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/melby-surname-popularity/.
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