Overbay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Overbay family

The surname Overbay was first found in Gloucestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Aston Underedge, held by the steward of Lambeth Church, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Overbay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Overbay research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1543, 1551, 1581, 1592, 1600, 1604, 1608, 1611, 1613, 1621, 1622, 1626, 1637, 1643 and 1660 are included under the topic Early Overbay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Overbay Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Overbury, Overbery, OverBerry, Overberrie and many more.

Early Notables of the Overbay family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Nicholas Overbury (1551-1643), an English lawyer, landowner and politician, Member of Parliament for Gloucester (1604-1611); and Walter Overbury (1592-1637), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Cardigan,_Ceredigion' target='_blank'>Cardigan (1621-1622) and again in 1626. Sir Thomas Overbury (1581-1613) was an English...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Overbay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Overbay Ranking

In the United States, the name Overbay is the 15,095^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Overbay family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..

Contemporary Notables of the name Overbay (post 1700) +

Nathan Overbay (b. 1987), American football tight end who has played since 2010
Lyle Stefan Overbay (b. 1977), American Major League Baseball first baseman who has played since 2001

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/