Show ContentsEllerbee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Ellerbee family

The surname Ellerbee was first found in the East Riding of Yorkshire at Ellerby, a civil parish that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Elwordebi at that time. [1] The name literally meant "farmstead or village of a man called Aelfweard" from the Old English personal name + the Scandinavian word "by." [2] Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Ellerby, held, according to the men of Holderness, by William Malet, a Norman Baron, Viscount of Arques, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. The site now is moated and is called Old Ellerby, near Wood Hall. New Ellerby is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Together with Old Ellerby it forms the civil parish of Ellerby. Allerby is a hamlet in Cumbria, England and there is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire named Ellerby. Ellerbeck is a small village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Elrebec. [1]

Early History of the Ellerbee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ellerbee research. Another 49 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1385 and 1410 are included under the topic Early Ellerbee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ellerbee Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Ellerby, Ellarby, Ellerbie, Ellerbe, Ellarbie, Ellaby, Elleby, Ellebie, Ellabie, Elerbee, Elerby, Elerbie, Elarby, Elarbie, Elarbee, Allerby and many more.

Early Notables of the Ellerbee family

More information is included under the topic Early Ellerbee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ellerbee Ranking

In the United States, the name Ellerbee is the 18,729th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [3]

Migration of the Ellerbee family

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Ellerbee or a variant listed above: Eliz Ellerby, who came to Virginia in 1689; Robert Ellerbey, who came to Nova Scotia in 1750; Edward Ellerby, who arrived in New York, NY in 1822; Heinrich Ellerbeck, who arrived in New Orleans in 1867.


Contemporary Notables of the name Ellerbee (post 1700) +

  • Florence Ellerbee, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1972 [4]


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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