An English surname, Kirby came from an early term ‘kirk’ which meant church, also ‘kirkja’ which meant farm and ‘cyrice’ which was also church. Variations in spelling Kirby include Curby, Kerby, Kirkby, Cerbee, Kyrby, Cirby, Kirkebye and Cerby. In England the City of London, and the counties of Yorkshire, Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Lancashire and Durham have the higher percentage of Kirby families. In Scotland the Kirby surname is found in greatest numbers in Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Angus and Aberdeenshire. Within the United States the Kirby surname is primarily in Texas, California, South Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio and Maryland. Famous: Frank E. Kirby (designer of steamships), Jim Kirby (originally from Scotland, invented the Kirby vacuum cleaner), Ryan Kirby (English soccer player), Robert Kirby (musician and music arranger), John Henry Kirby (founder of Kirby Lumber Co. and Houston Oil Co. and the town of Kirbyville in Texas) and George Kirby (comedian).