Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Shelbi” come from?

Shelbi (English) comes from English Shelby, from Middle English Selby, from Old Norse selja, from Proto-Germanic saljaną, from Proto-Indo-European selh₁- — to take.

Ancestry of “Shelbi”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishShelby—
2Middle EnglishSelby—
3Old Norseseljato hand over, deliver; to sell, part with;...
4Proto-Germanicsaljanąto offer, to give
5Proto-Indo-Europeanselh₁-to take
Every word from Proto-Indo-European selh₁- →