Abney
A habitational surname from an English place name, most likely the Derbyshire estate of Abney.
The #3,579 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,036 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Abney is an English place-based surname. The strongest historical evidence points to the estate and locality of Abney in Derbyshire, which gave its name to an early family of the same name. One older etymology connected it with the French place Aubigny, but the Derbyshire origin is the one most often treated as the surname’s source in later surname dictionaries.
History
The name appears as an old Derbyshire family surname and later spread into other English counties. By the 17th century, branches are recorded in places such as Leicester, and the name remained regionally notable in Derbyshire and nearby counties. A later hyphenated form, Abney-Hastings, came from a noble marriage alliance.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is linked to one of the older Derbyshire family names and was still being noted by county historians centuries after its medieval origins.
From the historical record
“mere, CO. Westmoreland. ABNEY. An estate near the Peak, in CO. Derby, possessed by a family of the same name in very early tunes. ABRAHAMS. 1. The personal name. It occurs in the H.R., as Abraam, Abbra- ham, and flls Abrahce. Some Jewish families have in recent times modified it to Braham. 2. The township of Abram…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom