Show ContentsStebbing History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Stebbing was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Stebbing family lived in Essex having derived from the Old English word stybbing, meaning stumps, and indicates that the original bearer lived in or near an area which had been cleared of trees.

Early Origins of the Stebbing family

The surname Stebbing was first found in Essex at Stebbing, a small village in the Uttlesford district that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Stibinga and either meant "settlement of the family or followers of a man called Stybba" or "dwellers among the tree-stumps." 1 Although the Old English roots of this name suggest that they pre-date the Normans in Britain, they were also conjecturally descended from Thomas de Colunces who's son Hugh acquired the lands of Stebbing and Woodham Ferrars in Essex, containing two Mills, vines, and five beehives. Thomas was descended from the Colunces of Calvados in Normandy.

Stubbins is an industrial village in the southern part of the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire and dates back to 1563 when it was first listed as Stubbing. It literally meant "a place with tree stumps."1

Early History of the Stebbing family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stebbing research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1611, 1647, 1687, 1728, 1735 and 1763 are included under the topic Early Stebbing History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stebbing Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Stebbing are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Stebbing include Stebbing, Stebing, Stubbings, Stubbing, Stebbings and many more.

Early Notables of the Stebbing family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • John Stebbing (1647-1728), a grocer from Walton


United States Stebbing migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Stebbing, or a variant listed above:

Stebbing Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Stebbing, who settled in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1633, and was was one of the founders of Hartford, CT

Australia Stebbing migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Stebbing Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

New Zealand Stebbing migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Stebbing Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Edward Stebbing, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Winterthur" in 1866
  • Mr. Charles J. Stebbing, (b. 1840), aged 34, English settler from Middlesex travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 3
  • Mr. Charles Stebbing, Jr., (b. 1868), aged 6, English settler from Middlesex travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 3
  • Mr. G. L. Stebbing, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tainui" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand in December 1890 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Stebbing (post 1700) +

  • Justin Stebbing, member of the Royal College of Physicians, American Board of Internal Medicine and the Royal College of Pathologists
  • Henry Stebbing (1799-1883), English cleric and man of letters from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
  • Gary Stebbing (b. 1948), English former football midfielder from Croydon
  • Elizabeth Susan "Lizzie" Stebbing (1885-1943), British philosopher who belonged to the 1930s generation of analytic philosophy, and was a founder in 1933 of the journal 'Analysis'
  • Edward Percy Stebbing FRGS, FZS (1872-1960), British forester and forest entomologist in India
  • The Reverend Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing F.R.S., F.L.S. (1835-1926), British zoologist, surprisingly he claimed to be an ardent disciple of Charles Darwin's " The Origin of Species"
  • James Stebbing, Chairman of Cambridge University First Aid Society


The Stebbing Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Quiescam
Motto Translation: I shall rest.


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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