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Kilby History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Kilby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Kilby belongs to the early history of Britain, it's origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in the region of Kilby located both in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. Kilby is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Kilby family

The surname Kilby was first found in Northumberland where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Kilby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kilby research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1202, 1351, 1560, 1610 and 1620 are included under the topic Early Kilby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kilby Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Kilby include Kilby, Kilbey, Killbey, Kilbee, Kilbie, Kelby and many more.

Early Notables of the Kilby family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Richard Kilby (1560-1620), an English scholar and priest...

Kilby Ranking

In the United States, the name Kilby is the 8,128^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Kilby migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Kilby were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Kilby Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Peter Kilby, who settled in Virginia in 1634
Henry Kilby, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Henry Kilby, aged 27, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 2

Kilby Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Christopher Kilby, aged 50, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
Felix Kilby, aged 18, who landed in New York in 1812 2
William Kilby, who arrived in New York in 1829 2

Kilby Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Richard F. Kilby, aged 21, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Lake Weir" from Sanga La Grande, Cuba 3
Oscar Kilby, aged 22, originally from Princeton, N.J., who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "La Lorraine" from Le Havre, France 3
Herbert F.S Kilby, aged 28, originally from Fernborough, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Lapland" from Antwerp, Belgium 3
Noel H. Kilby, aged 34, originally from London, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Kaiserin Augusta Victoria" from Liverpool, England 3

Kilby migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kilby Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Kilby, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Kilby migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Kilby Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Kilby, British Convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4
Mr. Isaac Kilby, English convict who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 27th August 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. Samuel Kilby, (b. 1796), aged 40, English ploughman who was convicted in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England for 14 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 20th January 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1842 6
Mr. Frederick Kilby, English convict who was convicted in Suffolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canton" on 20th September 1839, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. William Kilby, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 27th August 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 8

Kilby migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Kilby Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John C. W. Kilby, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hindostan" in 1875
John R. Kilby, aged 15, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hindostan" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Kilby (post 1700) +

Thomas Kilby (1865-1943), American politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, 36th Governor of Alabama (1919-1923)
Jack St. Clair Kilby (1923-2005), American electrical engineer, inventor of the integrated circuit, and co-winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physics
Barry Kilby, Chairman of Burnley Football Club in the UK
Arthur Forbes Gordon Kilby VC (1885-1915), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Brian Kilby (b. 1938), British two-time gold medalist marathon runner
Bob Kilby (1945-2009), British motorcycle speedway rider
Kilby Coggins, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Maine 4th District, 1906 9

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canton
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html