Derby
A locational surname from Derby, the historic county town in central England.
The #5,921 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,031 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Derby is a place-name surname taken from the English city of Derby. The place-name is generally explained as meaning “deer village” or “deer settlement,” from Old English dēor meaning “deer” and bēorc/burg-like settlement elements in older forms recorded in medieval sources. As a surname, it would originally have identified someone who came from Derby or from a nearby estate or parish associated with the town.
History
Medieval records and later surname dictionaries treat Derby chiefly as a locational name rather than an occupational or descriptive one. The name was carried by people who moved away from the town or who were identified in records by their place of origin. It also appears in the broader English surname landscape through gentry and place-linked family lines in Derbyshire and adjoining counties.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname can also appear in the related form Darby, which often reflects older pronunciation rather than a different origin.
From the historical record
“boundary,' as Marple is on the R. Gort, which there separates the counties of Chester and Derby. MARPLES I genit. (or pi.) of Marple, q.v. 2 a corr. form of Maples, q.v. MARR (Celt.) Bel. to Mar(r (Aberdeensh.),”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)