Show ContentsBellerby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Bellerby family

The surname Bellerby was first found in Bellerby 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. Many of these nobles were from Brittany, under the leadership of Count Alan and his brother, and were Barons who had joined the Duke of Normandy in the crossing to Hastings. 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 the 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 Bellerby, part of the vast estates granted to Count Alan By Duke William of Normandy. The lands were recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Bellerby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bellerby research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1421 is included under the topic Early Bellerby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellerby Spelling Variations

Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Bellerby, Bellaby, Bellerbie and others.

Early Notables of the Bellerby family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was

  • the Bellerby of Bellerby in Yorkshire


United States Bellerby migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Bellerby, or a variant listed above:

Bellerby Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Alfred Bellerby, aged 29, who immigrated to the United States, in 1893
  • Emma L Bellerby, aged 4, who landed in America, in 1893
  • S. Bellerby, aged 41, who settled in America from London, in 1895
  • M. Bellerby, aged 23, who landed in America from Southampton, in 1897
Bellerby Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mary Bellerby, aged 39, who immigrated to the United States from Hull, in 1907
  • Gertrude Bellerby, aged 8, who settled in America from Hull, in 1907

Contemporary Notables of the name Bellerby (post 1700) +

  • Mary Eirene Frances Bellerby (1899-1975), née Parker, English poet from Bristol


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)


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