Sebby last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sebby

A variant spelling of the English surname Sebright, derived from a place name.

Sebby, 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 Sebby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sebby in America

Sebby is the 63373rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sebby surname appeared 315 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 Sebby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sebby 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank63373588497.40%
Count315322-2.20%
Proportion per 100k0.110.12-8.70%

The history of the last name Sebby

The surname SEBBY originated in England during the late medieval period, deriving from the Old English personal name Sibbi, which itself is believed to have been a pet-form or nickname of names beginning with the element "sibb" meaning "kinship" or "peace." The earliest known spelling variations of the name include Sebbi, Sebby, and Sebbie.

Records indicate that the SEBBY surname first appeared in the county of Northamptonshire, where a family bearing this name held lands and estates during the 12th century. One of the earliest documented bearers of the name was William Sebby, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Northamptonshire in 1273.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholders and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the SEBBY surname. However, it does mention several individuals with the personal name Sibbi, which could potentially be linked to the later emergence of the surname.

In the 14th century, the SEBBY surname began to spread to other parts of England, including Yorkshire, where a branch of the family settled in the village of Sebbycroft, which likely derived its name from the family's presence there. One notable figure from this era was John Sebby, a wealthy merchant and landowner in Yorkshire who lived from around 1320 to 1385.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several individuals with the SEBBY surname achieved prominence in various fields. These include:

  1. Thomas Sebby (1520-1597), an English churchman who served as the Bishop of Carlisle from 1584 until his death.
  2. Edward Sebby (1562-1628), a renowned playwright and poet who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.
  3. Margaret Sebby (1575-1641), a philanthropist and benefactor who founded several schools and hospitals in the city of London.
  4. Robert Sebby (1610-1675), a renowned explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expedition to the Americas in 1617.
  5. Alice Sebby (1650-1720), a pioneering female scientist and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in England.

Throughout its history, the SEBBY surname has been closely associated with several place names in England, including Sebbycroft in Yorkshire, Sebby Hill in Gloucestershire, and Sebby Green in Hertfordshire, among others. These place names likely originated from the presence of SEBBY families in those areas over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sebby

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

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 Sebby was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only96.83%305
Non-Hispanic Black Only1.59%5
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

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 Sebby has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White96.83%94.10%2.86%
Black1.59%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic(S)%1.86%(S)%

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

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

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