Show ContentsObie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Obie surname was created from the medieval personal names Oppy, or Obby, which were turn short forms of personal names such as Osborn, Osbert, and Osbald.

Early Origins of the Obie family

The surname Obie was first found in Cornwall where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Penhargard.

"The manor of Lan-car, Lancarfe, or Lancoff, which was held of the honour of Bodmin, or of St. Petroc, was, in the reign of Richard II. in the Whalesborowe family, who then held it under the Bevilles, and retained it for several succeeding generations. In the fifteenth century the barton belonging to this manor, was in the family of Opie, from whom it passed successively to the Crossmans and Bullocks." 1

Early History of the Obie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Obie research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Obie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Obie Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Opie, Opey, Opye, Oppie, Oppye, Oppey, Upey, Uppie and many more.

Early Notables of the Obie family

More information is included under the topic Early Obie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Obie migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Obie Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • George Obie, aged 24, who arrived in Maryland in 1683 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Obie (post 1700) +

  • Obie Burnett "O.B." McClinton (1940-1987), American country music singer and songwriter
  • Obie Trice (b. 1977), American rapper and songwriter
  • Obie Patterson, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Maryland State House of Delegates District 26
  • Obie Greenleaf, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2000 3
  • Obie Pinckney Jr., American politician, Mayor of Glenarden, Maryland, 2001-03 4


  1. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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