Orbison History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Orbison family

The surname Orbison was first found in Lincolnshire at Orby, a village and civil parish in the marshes of the Lincolnshire coast. The place dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Heresbi, land held at the time by the Bishop of Durham. By 1115, the place name had evolved to Orreby and literally meant "farmstead or village of a man called Orri," derived from the Old Scandinavian personal name + "by." 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Geoffrey de Orby, Huntingdonshire; and John de Orby, Huntingdonshire, 2 and the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. included: Fulco de Orreby, Lincolnshire; and Robert de Orreby, Nottinghamshire. 3

The Orbel or Orbell variants were derived from the Latin form Orabilis which was first recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent in 1221. Later in Kent, Orbla and Orble were listed in 1243 and in Essex, we found Orbalia in the Feet of Fines for 1273. In Staffordshire, Orabella was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1275 and in the Cambridgeshire, John Orable was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls for 1279. In Suffolk, Adam Orbel was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. 4

Early History of the Orbison family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Orbison research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1316 and 1658 are included under the topic Early Orbison History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Orbison Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Orby, Orbie, Orbee, Orreby, Orrebey, Orrebie and many more.

Early Notables of the Orbison family

More information is included under the topic Early Orbison Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Orbison Ranking

In the United States, the name Orbison is the 16,411^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Orbison family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Richard Orrebey who settled in Massachusetts in 1720.

Contemporary Notables of the name Orbison (post 1700) +

Barbara Orbison (1950-2011), née Barbara Anne Marie Wellhöner Jakobs, a German-born, American entrepreneur, music producer/publisher, widow of Roy Orbison
William Orbison (1909-1981), American psychologist, known for his Orbison illusion, an optical illusion where straight lines appear distorted
Roy Kelton Orbison (1936-1988), nicknamed The Big O, an American singer-songwriter, known for his many hits including "Only the Lonely", "Crying", and "Oh, Pretty Woman", inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
Orbison B. Crum, American Republican politician, Candidate for Pennsylvania State Senate 33rd District, 1884 6

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html