[4] The Anglo-Nubian breed originated in the British Isles in the nineteenth century from cross-breeding between traditional native prick-eared British goats and a mixed population of large lop-eared goats imported from India, the Middle East and North Africa.

Some of these goats were commonly off-loaded and sold when the ships docked; regardless of their actual place or port of origin, they were often referred to as "Nubians" in the later nineteenth century.

[3]: 357 Some were exported to the West Indies in the early twentieth century, and from there some entered the United States,[3]: 357  where the first arrivals were in 1909.

The coat may be of any of a wide range of colours, either solid or in various brindled, marbled or mottled patterns; among the most frequent are white, cream, fawn, chestnut and black.

Nannies give approximately 3.9 kg of milk per day, with an average fat content of about 4.8%.