Ormsby
A place-based surname meaning “Orm’s dwelling” or “Orm’s estate,” from a Scandinavian personal name plus an Old Norse/Old English place-name ending.
The #8,981 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,750 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ormsby is a locational surname taken from places in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. It is generally explained as “Orm’s by,” where Orm is an old Scandinavian personal name and -by is a Scandinavian place-name element meaning farm, settlement, or village. In older scholarship, the name was sometimes glossed more loosely as “Orm’s dwelling” or “Orm’s estate.”
History
Medieval records show spellings such as Ormesby, and the surname became attached to people who came from those villages. The name reflects the strong Scandinavian linguistic layer in northern and eastern England. Variant spellings like Omsby and Ormsbee developed later, especially outside Britain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Old Norse element -by appears in many English place-names, including nearby names like Selby and Derby.
From the historical record
“ORMSBEE 1 (Scand.) Bel. to Ormsby = Orm's ORMSBY J Earm or Estate [v. Onm ; and + b.N. 6ji-r] The i3th-cent. spelling of the various Orrasbys (Lines, Norf., etc.) was usually Ormesby. ORMSHAW (Scand. -|- Eng.) Bel. to Ormshaw = Orm's Wood [v. Orm ; and -f M.E. shaw, O.E. sc{e)aga = O.N. sk6g-r, a wood]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)