Gubby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Gubby was first found in Dorset, at Guppy (formerly Guppehegh.)

Three sources presume that the name was originally Norman and came over with the Conquest. In this case, the name was derived from either "goupil," a fox. 1 2 The Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae includes a listing for Ursel and Aufrid Gopil, Normandy 1180-95 which points to the thought that not all of the family arrived at or after the Conquest. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include the following listing: Richard Gopil, England. 3

However, we must defer to Henry Brougham Guppy FRS FRSE FLS (1854-1926) the noted British surgeon, geologist, botanist and photographer who was awarded the Linnean Medal in 1917. In his work Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) he made the following entry:

"For nearly four centuries, in fact as far back as the parish registers enable us to trace the name, the principal home of the Guppys has been in Dorset, close to the Somerset and Devon borders, as shown by the wills in Somerset House; several families of well - to - do yeomen bearing this name resided in Halstock, South Perrott, Cheddington, and Frampton, during the 16th and 17th centuries. Pickyeate, Pykeyeate, or Picket, in South Perrott, was the residence of a family of Guppy or Guppie as far back as the reign of Elizabeth, and the name has since been frequent in the South Perrott registers until within the last twenty years. From Dorset the name extended into the surrounding counties of Somerset, Devon, and Wilts, in the last two of which it is now very rare or extinct. " 4

We continue to include more of his research later in this work.

Evidence of the Guppy parish has been lost over the years, but we did find record of Nicholas Gopheye who according to the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset held estates there in 1327. Due to the fact that Dorset borders onto Somerset, one can easily understand how he claimed Dorset as his original homestead.