NameCensus.

UK surname

Selby

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "willow farm" or "willow settlement" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 3,580 people recorded with the Selby surname, ranking it #1,262 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 5,372, ranked #1,251, up from #1,262 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Purbeck, South Kesteven and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Selby is 5,737 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 50.1%.

1881 census count

3,580

Ranked #1,262

Modern count

5,372

2016, ranked #1,251

Peak year

1999

5,737 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Selby had 3,580 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,262 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 5,372 in 2016, ranked #1,251.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 4,645 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Selby surname distribution map

The map shows where the Selby surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Selby surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Selby over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 2,156 #1,357
1861 historical 2,250 #1,305
1881 historical 3,580 #1,262
1891 historical 3,660 #1,311
1901 historical 4,294 #1,313
1911 historical 4,645 #1,115
1997 modern 5,499 #1,188
1998 modern 5,651 #1,196
1999 modern 5,737 #1,192
2000 modern 5,715 #1,188
2001 modern 5,560 #1,196
2002 modern 5,674 #1,193
2003 modern 5,582 #1,181
2004 modern 5,474 #1,206
2005 modern 5,396 #1,206
2006 modern 5,371 #1,211
2007 modern 5,386 #1,213
2008 modern 5,420 #1,211
2009 modern 5,523 #1,221
2010 modern 5,630 #1,227
2011 modern 5,541 #1,232
2012 modern 5,448 #1,227
2013 modern 5,525 #1,234
2014 modern 5,514 #1,236
2015 modern 5,420 #1,245
2016 modern 5,372 #1,251

Geography

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Where Selbys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, Manchester and Nottingham St Mary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Purbeck, South Kesteven and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 Nottingham St Mary Nottinghamshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Purbeck 005 Purbeck
2 South Kesteven 009 South Kesteven
3 Purbeck 003 Purbeck
4 South Kesteven 007 South Kesteven
5 Rhondda Cynon Taf 023 Rhondda Cynon Taf

Forenames

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First names often paired with Selby

These lists show first names that appear often with the Selby surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Selby

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Selby, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Selby surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Selby household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Selby is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Selby is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Selby falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Selby is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Selby, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Selby

The surname Selby originates from the Anglian village of the same name in Yorkshire, England, dating back to the 7th century. The village was originally called "Sealhfar" in Old English, meaning "seal settlement" or "seal dwelling," referring to the colony of seals that once resided in the area.

The name Selby appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, recorded as "Sellebi" and "Seleby," indicating its Norman roots. It is believed that the name was brought to England by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066, who adapted the existing Old English place name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Selby is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a landowner named William de Selby is mentioned. The prefix "de" signified his connection to the village of Selby.

In the 13th century, a notable figure was Galfridus de Selby, also known as Geoffrey of Selby, an English Benedictine monk and chronicler who wrote the "Historia Selebiensis" (History of Selby Abbey) around 1260.

During the 14th century, John Selby, a Yorkshire landowner, was appointed as the Keeper of the King's Wardrobe by King Edward III in 1345.

In the 16th century, George Selby (1508-1585) was a prominent English churchman who served as the Bishop of Llandaff and later the Bishop of Ely.

Another notable bearer of the Selby surname was Sir William Selby (1583-1638), an English military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War and was knighted for his service.

In the 18th century, Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) was a renowned English ornithologist and naturalist, best known for his work "Illustrations of British Ornithology" published between 1821 and 1834.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Selby families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Selby surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 465 Selbys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.33x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 465 1.33x
Nottinghamshire 365 7.76x
Yorkshire 331 0.96x
Lancashire 273 0.66x
Surrey 195 1.15x
Kent 172 1.45x
Durham 169 1.63x
Dorset 146 6.38x
Lincolnshire 144 2.58x
Wiltshire 133 4.31x
Gloucestershire 128 1.87x
Leicestershire 93 2.40x
Derbyshire 90 1.65x
Staffordshire 84 0.71x
Cheshire 65 0.84x
Northumberland 50 0.96x
Hampshire 47 0.66x
Northamptonshire 45 1.37x
Essex 43 0.62x
Glamorgan 39 0.64x
Sussex 37 0.63x
Warwickshire 34 0.39x
Cumberland 32 1.07x
Oxfordshire 32 1.49x
Cambridgeshire 28 1.27x
Pembrokeshire 28 2.53x
Angus 25 0.77x
Rutland 24 9.37x
Devon 22 0.30x
Somerset 19 0.34x
Monmouthshire 18 0.71x
Huntingdonshire 15 2.17x
Hertfordshire 14 0.58x
Bedfordshire 13 0.72x
Buckinghamshire 13 0.62x
Worcestershire 13 0.29x
Aberdeenshire 12 0.37x
Fife 12 0.58x
Norfolk 12 0.22x
Suffolk 11 0.26x
Berkshire 10 0.38x
Roxburghshire 9 1.42x
Lanarkshire 8 0.07x
Renfrewshire 8 0.30x
Wigtownshire 8 1.73x
Channel Islands 6 0.58x
Herefordshire 6 0.42x
Royal Navy 6 1.44x
Cardiganshire 4 0.47x
Midlothian 4 0.09x
Carmarthenshire 3 0.20x
Dunbartonshire 3 0.32x
Caernarfonshire 2 0.14x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.25x
Shropshire 2 0.07x
Anglesey 1 0.16x
Brecknockshire 1 0.14x
Flintshire 1 0.11x
Stirlingshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Nottingham St Mary in Nottinghamshire leads with 108 Selbys recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.88x.

Place Total Index
Nottingham St Mary 108 8.88x
Droylsden 47 34.80x
Shoreditch London 40 2.65x
St Marylebone London 40 2.15x
Lambeth 38 1.25x
St Pancras London 37 1.32x
Poplar London 36 5.47x
Camberwell 35 1.57x
Hunslet 34 6.31x
Hackney London 33 1.69x
Croydon 31 3.29x
Lambley 31 322.92x
Kensington London 29 1.50x
Openshaw 29 14.96x
Mile End Old Town 28 5.09x
Islington London 27 0.80x
Leeds 27 1.38x
Greenwich 26 4.68x
Swindon 25 10.45x
West Ham 25 1.64x
Deptford St Paul 23 2.51x
Dukinfield 23 6.46x
Walsall Foreign 23 3.78x
Lenton 21 18.96x
Purton 21 76.50x
Newington 20 1.55x
Bermondsey 19 1.83x
Newark Upon Trent 19 11.24x
Sheffield 19 1.73x
Wareham Holy Trinity 19 190.19x
Bromley London 18 2.35x
Radford 18 7.54x
Snenton 18 9.74x
Stockport 18 4.54x
Leicester All Sts 17 22.38x
Lytchett Matravers 17 205.81x
Chorlton On Medlock 16 2.43x
Derby St Werburgh 16 5.07x
Spittlegate 16 20.74x
Harborne 15 3.97x
Hartlepool 15 10.17x
Holy Trinity 15 1.80x
Loughborough 15 8.55x
Ratcliffe London 15 7.79x
Sculcoates 15 2.74x
St Dogmells 15 50.92x
Trimdon 15 40.89x
Lewisham 14 2.21x
Salford 14 1.15x
Bishop Auckland 13 9.34x
Hornsey 13 2.95x
Hulme 13 1.50x
Maidstone 13 3.67x
Swanage 13 46.00x
Thorne 13 30.32x
Atherton 12 7.96x
Dunfermline 12 3.78x
Horsley 12 39.59x
Leicester St Margaret 12 1.27x
Manchester 12 0.64x
Margate St John Baptist 12 5.51x
Middlesbrough 12 2.67x
Morden 12 123.71x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 11 3.42x
Blaenhonddan 11 38.90x
Doncaster 11 4.36x
Epworth 11 42.29x
Gateshead 11 1.42x
Great Bolton 11 2.01x
Great Gonerby 11 76.60x
Paddington London 11 0.86x
Stockton On Tees 11 2.20x
Westoe 11 1.87x
Wisbech St Mary 11 43.38x
Cowley 10 14.87x
Darlington 10 2.50x
Leigh 10 284.09x
Oldham 10 0.75x
Worksop 10 7.17x
Wormleighton 10 362.32x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Selby surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 246
Sarah 131
Elizabeth 127
Ann 81
Jane 79
Annie 67
Emma 56
Alice 55
Eliza 55
Emily 42
Ellen 41
Hannah 35
Margaret 32
Martha 30
Louisa 28
Fanny 25
Florence 25
Ada 21
Edith 21
Harriet 18
Kate 18
Catherine 17
Caroline 16
Lucy 16
Anne 15
Charlotte 14
Frances 14
Clara 13
Isabella 12
Maria 12
Susan 11
Harriett 10
Rose 10
Sophia 9
Amelia 8
Gertrude 8
Jessie 8
Rebecca 8
Susannah 7
Agnes 6
Anna 6
Bertha 6
Eleanor 6
Elizth. 6
Esther 6
Julia 6
Matilda 6
Maud 6
Phoebe 6
Selina 6

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Selby surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 207
John 192
Thomas 153
James 114
George 112
Charles 80
Joseph 64
Henry 51
Arthur 44
Robert 42
Albert 32
Frederick 32
Edward 31
Alfred 28
Samuel 27
Frank 24
Walter 24
Richard 21
Francis 17
Benjamin 14
Harry 14
Ernest 13
Edwin 11
Matthew 10
David 8
Wm. 8
Daniel 7
Herbert 7
Thos. 7
Johnson 6
Maurice 6
Philip 6
Ralph 6
Christopher 5
Fred 5
Isaac 5
Peter 5
Sidney 5
Tom 5
Abraham 4
Geo. 4
Sam 4
Cornelius 3
Edgar 3
Job 3
Jonathan 3
Joshua 3
Obey 3
Stephen 3
Sydney 3

FAQ

Selby surname: questions and answers

How common was the Selby surname in 1881?

In 1881, 3,580 people were recorded with the Selby surname. That placed it at #1,262 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Selby surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 5,372 in 2016. That gives Selby a modern rank of #1,251.

What does the Selby surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "willow farm" or "willow settlement" in Old English.

What does the Selby map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Selby bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.