Hamby
Probably a habitational surname, most likely from a place-name or local form such as Hanby, with medieval records showing it in England by the 12th century.
The #2,609 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,336 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is most likely locational, probably tied to an English place-name such as Hanby, rather than a descriptive nickname. The older sources also connect it with continental forms like Hambeia or Hambee in medieval records, suggesting that spelling shifted a good deal over time. The place-name itself is likely to have been shaped by Old English and/or Old Norse elements, though the exact underlying form is not certain from the excerpts alone.
History
Medieval references place similar forms in England by the 12th and 13th centuries, and later records show the name persisting in various spellings. In the 19th-century works excerpted here, Hamby is treated as a surname related to Hanby and other local-name forms. The name is now most familiar in the United States, where it survives as a relatively uncommon surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The historical spellings are so variable that one source links Hamby with several different medieval-looking forms, showing how fluid surname spelling could be before standardization.
From the historical record
“1764. Married— Edward Collininirood ■nd Maiy Hamby: Sl. Geo. Hul 9q, '' LMdoo, 14; MDH. (co. Noithnmber- land). ,1 ; Boiton (U.S.), 4- ComB,coiiiK»i, Collu^ Coi-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances