Show ContentsErby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Erby

What does the name Erby mean?

The German surname Erby comes from the medieval personal name Erbe, meaning "descendant," or "heir."

Early Origins of the Erby family

The surname Erby was first found in the Rhineland, where this family was a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. The earliest record is of "ich Erbo, Erben sun" or "Erbo, son of Erbo," who was a knight in Colmar in 1282. Colman or Kolman, located in Alsace, was a free city of the Holy Roman Empire in 1226. They held a family seat at Strasbourg, where records show Erbo Schonterlin in 1260, and Erbo Mendewin in 1353. Further to the south, there is a record of Joh. Erbe in 1320, in Konstanz, a city on the Swiss border.

Early History of the Erby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Erby research. Another 147 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1468 and 1531 are included under the topic Early Erby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Erby Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Erb, Erbe, von Erb, von Erbe, Erbs, Erby, Erbie and others.

Early Notables of the Erby family

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

Erby Ranking

In the United States, the name Erby is the 18,243rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


Erby migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Erby Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John H Erby, who landed in Texas in 1835 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Erby (post 1700) +

  • Hazel Erby, American politician, Member of the St. Louis County Council from the first district (2004-)
  • Arthur Brian Erby (1902-1972), Australian rugby union player
  • Erby Jenkins, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Tennessee, 1956 3


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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