2000
#2,858
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,533
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.28
Uncommon Last name
Selby
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "willow farm" or "willow settlement" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,772 Americans carry the last name Selby. That puts it at #3,163 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,836 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Selby surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Selby with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,836
Census rank
#3,163
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,138 bearers of the surname Selby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3163rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Selby, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Selby
The surname Selby originates from the Anglian village of the same name in Yorkshire, England, dating back to the 7th century. The village was originally called "Sealhfar" in Old English, meaning "seal settlement" or "seal dwelling," referring to the colony of seals that once resided in the area.
The name Selby appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, recorded as "Sellebi" and "Seleby," indicating its Norman roots. It is believed that the name was brought to England by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066, who adapted the existing Old English place name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Selby is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a landowner named William de Selby is mentioned. The prefix "de" signified his connection to the village of Selby.
In the 13th century, a notable figure was Galfridus de Selby, also known as Geoffrey of Selby, an English Benedictine monk and chronicler who wrote the "Historia Selebiensis" (History of Selby Abbey) around 1260.
During the 14th century, John Selby, a Yorkshire landowner, was appointed as the Keeper of the King's Wardrobe by King Edward III in 1345.
In the 16th century, George Selby (1508-1585) was a prominent English churchman who served as the Bishop of Llandaff and later the Bishop of Ely.
Another notable bearer of the Selby surname was Sir William Selby (1583-1638), an English military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War and was knighted for his service.
In the 18th century, Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) was a renowned English ornithologist and naturalist, best known for his work "Illustrations of British Ornithology" published between 1821 and 1834.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selby
Among Census respondents with the surname Selby, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Selby bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Selby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.6% · 8,757
- Black or African American12.7% · 1,418
- Two or more races4.0% · 441
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 391
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 54
Timeline
Historical Census data for Selby
Selby appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,008
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,908
+375 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 4.04
Rank movement Down 150 places
2020
#3,163
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,138
-770 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 3.73
Rank movement Down 155 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,858 | 11,533 | 4.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,008 | 11,908 | 4.04 | +375 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 150 places |
| 2020 | #3,163 | 11,138 | 3.73 | -770 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 155 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Selby surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,008 | #3,163 | -5.2% |
| Count | 11,908 | 11,138 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.04 | 3.73 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Selby bearers went from 11,908 to 11,138 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 155 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,008 to #3,163.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Selby
FAQ
Selby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Selby?
Name Census estimates that about 12,772 living Americans carry the surname Selby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,836 residents.
How common is Selby?
Selby ranks #3,163 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,138 people with the surname Selby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,772), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Selby.
Has Selby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Selby went from 11,908 recorded bearers to 11,138. That is a decrease of 770 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,008 to #3,163.
What does the Census say about the background of Selby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Selby, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Selby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.6% (8,757 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Selby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.6%), Black (12.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Selby (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Selby mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "willow farm" or "willow settlement" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Selby (3.73 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Selby?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Selby? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.