Willoughby
A habitational surname from English place-names meaning “willow farm” or “willow village.”
The #2,257 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,164 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Willoughby comes from several English place-names built from a willow word plus Old Norse -by, meaning “farmstead,” “settlement,” or “village.” The first element is generally taken as a willow tree name, cognate with Old English wylig and related Germanic forms. In literal terms, the name means something like “willow farm” or “farm by the willows.”
History
The surname is recorded from multiple places in the Midlands, especially in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Warwickshire. Historical spellings such as Wilgebi and Wilechebi show the older forms behind the modern name. It became established as a typical English locational surname for people who came from one of these places.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending -by in Willoughby is the same Scandinavian place-name element found in many English village names, especially in the East Midlands.
From the historical record
“Cp. Willatt, Willett. WILLOUGHBY (Scand.) Bel. to Willoughby (several) = the Willow-Farm [f. an O.N. cognate {*uilgi-r) of O.E. wylig = L.Ger. wilge = Dut. wilg, willow -|- O.N. by-r, farmstead] Willows 293”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)