Peculiar name, that of Rugby. Not as straightforward as football or basketball. Thought I should mention that there’s an alternative explanation for football where it is not named like that because you hit the ball with your foot, but because it is played on foot, unlike polo, which was all the rage at the time.
In any case, Rugby comes from the similarly named village from England and its namesake school whence it originates. Ah, but there’s more to it! The original name for this settlement was Rocheberie, from *Hroca, some cool dude, and Old English burh (in dativ, byrig) “fortification”. You know he was cool because he had a castle. Only cool dudes have castles.
Originally published in The blind mouse.