This surname is derived from the Old Norse "Danebyr" meaning "settlement of the Danes". It is a locational name from any of several places called Danby in Northern Yorkshire. The name dates back to the late 12th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Robert de Danebi "Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire" (1212), and Simon de Danby "The Hundred rolls of Lincolnshire" (circa 1216). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Danbye, Danbi. John Danby is recorded in "the Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem" of Nottinghamshire. John Danbyr and Johanna Farr were married in London in 1565 and Francis Danby married Mary Kendall at St. George Hanover Square, London in 1765. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rach de Danbi, which was dated 1189, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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