Roby grew from a tenth-century Norse settlement named Rabil, meaning "boundary farm/village".[4] Roby is therefore mentioned, as Rabil, in the Domesday Book of 1086. In 1351, it became part of the Barony of Widnes and subsequently merged into the Duchy of Lancaster.[4] In 1894 Roby was included in the Huyton with Roby Urban District.[3] On the abolition of the administrative county of Lancashire in 1974, the urban district was also abolished and its former area was transferred to Merseyside to be combined with that of other districts to form the present-day metropolitan borough of Knowsley.[5]
The area is located within a green belt area of Merseyside and partly consists of detached houses and private roads such as Wynwood Park. It has a golf course situated in nearby Bowring Park by the M62 motorway and Roby Road.
A new instated sign marks Roby by the Bowring Park Golf Course, including Roby Station and Roby Road within its location.