Show ContentsMelby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Melby Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Melby

What does the name Melby mean?

The name Melby is a local name for someone who lived in or by the places named Milborne, Milbourne and Milburn. Literally the place name means "mill stream," from the Old English "myln" + "burna." 1

Some of the parishes date back to Saxon times when Milborne, Port Somerset was known as Mylenburnam c. 880 and Milborne St Andrew, Dorset was known as Muleburne in 934.

The Domesday Book of 1086 lists Meleburne (Somerset), and Meleburne (Dorset.) 2

Early Origins of the Melby family

The surname Melby was first found in Dorset, England where Hugh de Meleburn was recorded as holding lands in 1201. A few years later in Yorkshire, Walter de Milleburne was recorded in 1251 and later again, William Milbourne was recorded in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1465. 3

Early records of the name mention Margaret de Milleburn, Northumberland in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 and Edward Milborne of Yorkshire, in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

Early History of the Melby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Melby research. Another 146 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1464, 1536, 1622, 1633, 1646, 1649, 1660, 1662, 1668, 1670, 1683, 1720 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Melby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Melby Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Milburn, Milborne, Milbourn, Milbourne, Milburne, Melbourne and many more.

Early Notables of the Melby family

Simon Melburn, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1464; William Milborne (c 1633-1660), an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660; Luke Milbourne (1622-1668), an ejected minister, the incumbent of Wroxhall, Warwickshire; and...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Melby Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Melby Ranking

the United States, the name Melby is the 13,004th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Melby family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Andrew, Christopher and William Milburn settled in Carolina in 1774; Rich Milborne settled in Virginia in 1635; Elizabeth Milburn settled in Georgia in 1775.

Contemporary Notables of the name Melby (post 1700) +

  • L. A. Melby, American politician, Member of South Dakota State Senate 24th District, 1955-56 6
  • John Frémont Melby, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Ciudad Juarez, 1938; Buenos Aires, 1945-46 7
  • Bob Melby, American Republican politician, Member of Florida State House of Representatives 59th District; Elected 1978 7
  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  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)
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

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