Hornsby
A habitational surname from places named with the old English word for a horn-shaped spur or corner and Old Norse -by, meaning “farm” or “settlement.”
The #4,850 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 42,486 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hornsby is a habitational surname, most likely from an English place-name built from horn and -by. The first element probably refers to a horn-shaped feature of the landscape, such as a spur, point, or corner of land; the second element, -by, is the Old Norse word for a farm, village, or settlement. In plain terms, the name originally meant something like “settlement by the horn-shaped feature.”
History
The surname is found in English records by the medieval and early modern period and remained especially associated with northern England. Nineteenth-century surname writers treated it as a place-name surname, and later references generally follow that view. It is less common than some other locational surnames but has been stable in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending -by shows the influence of Scandinavian settlement in parts of England, especially in the north and east.
From the historical record
“Hatchards, Booksellers, London, W. (2 copies.) Hodgson, J., Esq., J.P., Ulverston. (2 copies^ HoRNSBY, Miss, Ulverston. Jackson, R., Bookseller, Leeds. (4 copies.) James, Rev. Dr., Rugby. Jones, Surgeon-General Evan, Aberdare. Jones, E. Penllyn, Esq., Aberystwyth. .yGooglc Klincksieck, C, Bookseller, Paris.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances