Tobben Surname History

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

When the Anglo-Normans began to settle in Ireland, they brought the tradition of local surnames to an island which already had a Gaelic naming system of hereditary surnames established. Unlike the Irish, the Anglo-Normans had an affinity for local surnames. Local surnames, such as Tobben, were formed from the names of a place or a geographical landmark where the person lived, held land, or was born. The earliest Anglo-Norman surnames of this type came from Normandy, but as the Normans moved, they created names that referred to where they actually resided. Therefore, English places were used for names when the Normans lived in England, and then Irish places after these particular Anglo-Normans had been settled in Ireland for some time. Originally, these place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. However, this type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or it was eliminated entirely. The Tobben family originally lived in the settlement of Aubyn in France. Thus, the surname Tobben belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. The Tobben family was originally called St. Aubyn, which was eventually corrupted to Tobben. The Gaelic form of the surname is Tóibín.

Early Origins of the Tobben family

The surname Tobben was first found in Devon, where they held a family seat at the manor of Ashton known as "Place Barton," the heiress of this line married Sir John St. Aubyns. Sir John was the heir of the St. Aubyns of St. Aubyn du Thenney in Normandy, and was possessed of considerable estates at Pickwell, Georgeham, Berynarber, and Paracombe in north Devon. The name St. Aubyn gradually eroded to Torbyn and then Tobyn.

Early History of the Tobben family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tobben research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1819 is included under the topic Early Tobben History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tobben Spelling Variations

Since church officials and medieval scribes spelt each name as it sounded to them; as a result, a single person could accumulate many different versions of his name within official records. A close examination of the origins of the name Tobben revealed the following spelling variations: Tobin, Torbyn, Tobyn and others.

Early Notables of the Tobben family

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

Tobben migration to the United States +

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Tobben:

Tobben Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Allart Tobben, aged 34, who arrived in Missouri in 1840 1
Henry Tobben, aged 23, who landed in Missouri in 1848 1

Citations +

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)