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HelpA very old family
I came across this on a genealogy site, and was impressed by the sheer number of children of the marriage, and especially of boys named Highland and Orby. Highland Hunter would be instantly written off as toe-curlingly awful and inappropriate in today's world, by me anyway, but back then it must have been amazing. Orby defeats me: any ideas?
On the 15th of October 1823.
At the Island St Helena was married.
Thomas Montgomery Hunter born 16th February 1792
to
Phoebe Solomon born 20th May 1804
Ann Hunter born 15th December 1824.
Montgomery Hunter born 18th February 1827.
Highland Hunter born 27th November 1828
Orby Montgomery Hunter born 30th May 1833
Grace Hunter born 11th October 1834
Children of the above.
Thomas Montgomery & Phoebe Hunter
On the 15th of October 1823.
At the Island St Helena was married.
Thomas Montgomery Hunter born 16th February 1792
to
Phoebe Solomon born 20th May 1804
Ann Hunter born 15th December 1824.
Montgomery Hunter born 18th February 1827.
Highland Hunter born 27th November 1828
Orby Montgomery Hunter born 30th May 1833
Grace Hunter born 11th October 1834
Children of the above.
Thomas Montgomery & Phoebe Hunter
Replies
I don't dislike any of these names. I'm not big on Ann or Grace, but I like the others. What a wonderful find! Orby and Highland in the wild - they would totally fit in with today's trendier names. Admittedly though, Orby sounds like a NN - perhaps for Corbin? I also think about Orbeez. It sounds youthful and naive. I'm more curious about it than I am opposed to it. ^^
Highland Hunter is very cheesy, like a Land Rover-type vehicle.
Orby? I have run across the last name Orby and Ourby, and once had a teacher whose last name was Orbison, affectionately called Orby by the students.
Orby? I have run across the last name Orby and Ourby, and once had a teacher whose last name was Orbison, affectionately called Orby by the students.
I like Thomas, Phoebe, Ann, and Grace.
I like Montgomery (and Thomas) best of the masculine names. Orby is alright; I like it about as much as Kirby and better than Opie (which happened for boys; I guess from Opal). Phoebe, Grace, and Ann are nice as a sibset.
BtN says Highland is possibly related to Hyland (variant of Whelan, meaning descendant of Faolán) or "heilen" meaning heal/cure and Heiland, an archaic German name: https://www.behindthename.com/name/heiland/submitted
Orby (a past spelling having been Orreby) is a place in Lincolnshire. A potential meaning I saw is "Orri's village/farmstead" - https://www.behindthename.com/name/orri/submitted, so "black grouse settlement"?
Sir George Orby Wombwell (what a surname! imagine if that was used as a first name too) born in 1832 comes up in a google search for it (his maternal grandfather was named Thomas Orby Hunter, an 18th century MP: Thomas Orby Hunter's mother's family were the Orby baronets in Lincolnshire though their title became extinct in 1725, plus his father was a governor of New York, New Jersey, and Jamaica as well as a lieutenant governor of Virginia in the early 1700s; his sons all had Orby as a middle name though most died young, and he had several daughters; his son Charles Orby Hunter b.1750s had a son named Thomas and potentially had an illegitimate son named George Orby Hunter (who was a translator of Lord Byron into French)...
BtN says Highland is possibly related to Hyland (variant of Whelan, meaning descendant of Faolán) or "heilen" meaning heal/cure and Heiland, an archaic German name: https://www.behindthename.com/name/heiland/submitted
Orby (a past spelling having been Orreby) is a place in Lincolnshire. A potential meaning I saw is "Orri's village/farmstead" - https://www.behindthename.com/name/orri/submitted, so "black grouse settlement"?
Sir George Orby Wombwell (what a surname! imagine if that was used as a first name too) born in 1832 comes up in a google search for it (his maternal grandfather was named Thomas Orby Hunter, an 18th century MP: Thomas Orby Hunter's mother's family were the Orby baronets in Lincolnshire though their title became extinct in 1725, plus his father was a governor of New York, New Jersey, and Jamaica as well as a lieutenant governor of Virginia in the early 1700s; his sons all had Orby as a middle name though most died young, and he had several daughters; his son Charles Orby Hunter b.1750s had a son named Thomas and potentially had an illegitimate son named George Orby Hunter (who was a translator of Lord Byron into French)...
This message was edited 3/23/2025, 10:43 AM
Orby feels like a surname turned into a first name to me.
I like Montgomery as a GP and Solomon too (even though it's meant to be a surname here?)
It's interesting that the sons got less common names than the girls. No one would bat an eye at sisters Phoebe, Ann and Grace now, but Montgomery, Highland and Orby would be a different matter.
I like Montgomery as a GP and Solomon too (even though it's meant to be a surname here?)
It's interesting that the sons got less common names than the girls. No one would bat an eye at sisters Phoebe, Ann and Grace now, but Montgomery, Highland and Orby would be a different matter.