The name Nasby comes from the
Boernician Scottish-English border region. The Nasby family lived in any of several places in the Border region of
Scotland called Nesbitt or Nisbit. There were hamlets of East Nisbet and West Nisbet in
Berwickshire, a village of Nisbet in
Roxburghshire, a Nesbit in
Northumberland, and a township of Nesbit in County
Durham. These place names derive from the Middle English words
nese, meaning "nose," and
bit, meaning a "piece of ground;" as such, these place names are thought to have referred to geographic features resembling a nose. The surname may well have arisen independently from these different place names.
Early Origins of the Nasby family
The surname Nasby was first found in
Berwickshire an ancient county of
Scotland, presently part of the Scottish Borders Council Area, located in the eastern part of the Borders Region of
Scotland where they held a
family seat from early times and King David I confirmed a charter (now in the archives of
Durham Cathedral) granting the lands of Nisbet to Aldan de Nisbet, the founder of the line of Nisbet in 1139. According to family lore, they descend from Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria (d. 1073).
Early History of the Nasby family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nasby research.
Another 353 words (25 lines of text) covering the years 1160, 1255, 1296, 1340, 1433, 1446, 1456, 1493, 1594, 1632, 1580, 1660, 1630, 1641, 1559, 1605, 1625, 1627, 1685, 1657, 1725, 1609, 1687, 1664, 1677 and are included under the topic Early Nasby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Nasby Spelling Variations
Since medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, and since there were no consistent rules for the translation of rules from Gaelic to English,
spelling variations are extremely common in
Boernician names of this vintage. Nasby has been spelled Nisbet, Nysbit, Nispett, Nispet, Nisbit, Nisbett, Nessbitt, Nessbit, Nesbyth, Nesbitt, Naibet, Nesbeth, Nesbet, Naisbitt, Naisbit, Nesbett, Naisbett, Naibett and many more.
Early Notables of the Nasby family (pre 1700)
Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Murdoch Nisbet (d. 1559) of
Ayrshire, a notary public in the diocese of Glasgow, best known for his Scots translations of the Bible; Philip Nesbit, of that Ilk was knighted in March 1605 by the Earl of Dunfermline, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, he...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Nasby Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Nasby family to Ireland
Some of the Nasby family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Nasby family to the New World and Oceana
Many of the Boernician-Scottish families who crossed the Atlantic settled along the eastern seaboard in communities that would become the backbone of the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. In the
War of Independence, American families that remained loyal to the Crown moved north into Canada and became known as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestral culture of all of these proud Scottish families remains alive in North America in the 20th century through
Clan societies and highland games. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Nasby or a variant listed above: Hugh Nesbit, who came to South Carolina in 1684; Robert Nisbet, who arrived in Barbados in 1635; William Nesbit, who settled in South Carolina in 1685.
Nasby Family Crest Products
See Also