Raby
A surname taken from places called Raby, especially in Cheshire and Durham.
The #7,319 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 67,722 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Raby is a locational surname, meaning “from Raby,” with the name attached to places in Cheshire and Durham. The place-name is generally explained from Old Norse elements referring to a farm or settlement at a nook, corner, or deer place, though the precise breakdown is not certain. Some 19th-century writers also linked it more broadly to Scandinavian place-name forms in northern England.
History
The surname appears in records as a local name for people who came from Raby in Cheshire or Durham. The Durham Raby is especially well known because of Raby Castle and the Neville family. Later records show the name spreading beyond northern England and into other parts of Britain and, eventually, the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Nevilles of Raby helped make the place-name famous through Raby Castle in County Durham.
From the historical record
“boto, messenger] RABY (Scand.) Bel. to Raby (Chesh. ; Cumb. ; Durham) = i Ra's or the Deer Place [O.N. rd, a roe + 6ji-r] the Nook or Corner 2 the Farm in [O.N. rd, urd, a nook, corner, + Jji->-] The Cheshire Raby was Rabie in”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)