Show ContentsHobband History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Hobband came from Robert. The name is derived from a pet form of the personal name Robert. In England, in the Middle Ages, rhyming was often used as a device. This practice continued on into the 18th and 19th centuries; cockney, a London dialect of the 19th century, used rhymes almost exclusively to get its point across without the "upper classes" knowing what was being said. A common diminutive of Robert is Rob and Hobb. 1 2

Early Origins of the Hobband family

The surname Hobband was first found in Worcestershire where the singular form of the name was first found. Henry Hobben was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327 and later Alice Hobben was registered in the Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire in 1332. Later again, Richard Hobbyn was registered in Essex in 1408. 3

Early History of the Hobband family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hobband research. Another 34 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1656 and 1770 are included under the topic Early Hobband History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hobband Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hobband family name include Hobbins, Hobbin, Hobbis, Hobbiss, Hoben and others.

Early Notables of the Hobband family

Distinguished members of the family include Agnes Hobbis, who held estates in Huntingdonshire during the reign of Edward 1st; and Ann Hibbins (Hibbens or Brennum Clenums), executed for witchcraft in...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hobband Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hobband family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hobband surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Thomas Hobin, who sailed to Barbados, Joane Hobbin, to Virginia in 1660; Peter Hobben to Philadelphia in 1754; Mary Hobbin to Boston in 1849; John Hobin to Philadelphia in 1859.



  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook