Show ContentsGunby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Gunby family

The surname Gunby was first found in Yorkshire 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 Gunby held by Gilbert de Tison from the Count of Mortain who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Gunby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gunby research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1268 is included under the topic Early Gunby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gunby Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gunby, Gunbie, Goneby, Gonby, Gumby, Gumbie and others.

Early Notables of the Gunby family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Gunby of Yorkshire


Gunby migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gunby Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Henry Gunby, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 2
  • William Gunby, who landed in Maryland in 1669 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Gunby (post 1700) +

  • Colonel John Gunby, Commander of the 7th Maryland Regiment during the American Revolution
  • W. E. Gunby, American politician, Mayor of Chillicothe, Missouri, 1878 3
  • E. R. Gunby, American politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Florida, 1888; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Florida, 1898, 1904, 1912 3
  • A. A. Gunby, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 1884 3


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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