DERBYSHIRE
The surname Derbyshire originates from the English county of the same name in the English Midlands. It is a locational surname, given to those who came from or had a definite association with the region known as Derbyshire.
As a locational name, Derbyshire is composed of the Old English words Deor, meaning deer, and scir, meaning shire or district. The combined terms therefore denote “the district of the deer.”
The surname also has roots in Old Scandinavian. The placename Derby is derived from the Old Scandinavian phrase diurby or diuraby, meaning a farm or homestead that contained a deer-park or was inhabited by deer. In medieval documents the area known as West Derby in Lancashire was recorded as Derbi in the Domesday Book of 1086, and the county name appeared as Derbyscire. This demonstrates the Anglo‑Scandinavian influence on the name.
Recorded spellings of the name vary, appearing as Derbyshire, Darbyshire and Darbishire. The earliest known instance is that of Geoffrey de Derbesire, a witness listed in the Staffordshire Assize Rolls of 1203, made during the reign of King John (1199‑1216). Later, on 19 February 1625, the marriage of William Darbyshire and Jane Coghill was recorded at St. James’s, Clerkenwell, London.
These documentary references confirm that the surname Derbyshire has been in continuous use since at least the early twelfth century, firmly linking bearers of the name to their English heritage within the Christian traditions of England.
Typical given names associated with the Derbyshire surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Stephen
- Thomas
Female
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Jane
- Julie
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michelle
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Derbyshire in...
Braille
⠙⠑⠗⠃⠽⠎⠓⠊⠗⠑
Morse
-....-.-...-.--..........-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 6,339 people named Derbyshire in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,494th most common surname in Britain. Around 97 in a million people in Britain are named Derbyshire.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Derbyshire
- Victoria Derbyshire - Journalist
- Eileen Derbyshire - Actress
- Delia Derbyshire - Musician and composer of electronic music (1937 to 2001)
- Thomas Derbyshire - Comedian
- Matt Derbyshire - Football player
- John Derbyshire - Writer
- Nick Derbyshire - Cricketer
- Andrew Derbyshire - Architect (1923 to 2016)
- John Derbyshire - Swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, former world record-holder (1878 to 1938)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.