Orrebay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Orrebay family

The surname Orrebay was first found in Lincolnshire at Orby, a village and civil parish in the marshes of the Lincolnshire coast. The place dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Heresbi, land held at the time by the Bishop of Durham. By 1115, the place name had evolved to Orreby and literally meant "farmstead or village of a man called Orri," derived from the Old Scandinavian personal name + "by." 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Geoffrey de Orby, Huntingdonshire; and John de Orby, Huntingdonshire, 2 and the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. included: Fulco de Orreby, Lincolnshire; and Robert de Orreby, Nottinghamshire. 3

The Orbel or Orbell variants were derived from the Latin form Orabilis which was first recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent in 1221. Later in Kent, Orbla and Orble were listed in 1243 and in Essex, we found Orbalia in the Feet of Fines for 1273. In Staffordshire, Orabella was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1275 and in the Cambridgeshire, John Orable was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls for 1279. In Suffolk, Adam Orbel was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. 4

Early History of the Orrebay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Orrebay research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1316 and 1658 are included under the topic Early Orrebay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Orrebay Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Orby, Orbie, Orbee, Orreby, Orrebey, Orrebie and many more.

Early Notables of the Orrebay family

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

Migration of the Orrebay family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Richard Orrebey who settled in Massachusetts in 1720.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)