Webbe is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in
England with the
Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a
weaver which was in turn derived from the Old English word
webbe, meaning
a woven cloth, and was used to indicate someone employed in making such fabric.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print Early Origins of the Webbe family
The surname Webbe was first found in
Wiltshire where they held a
family seat anciently from about the time of the
Norman Conquest in 1066. "This name is confined south of a line drawn from the Wash to the Dee. It is most numerous in
Somerset and
Wiltshire, in the west of England; but is also well represented in
Suffolk in the east of
England and in Northamptonshire in the midlands."
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list early spellings and some of the first recordings of the family: Adam le Webbe in Essex; and Elyas le Webbe in Buckinghamshire. [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Webbe family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Webbe research.
Another 218 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1663, 1734, 1708, 1713 and are included under the topic Early Webbe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Webbe Spelling Variations
A multitude of
spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to
England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Webb, Webbe and others.
Early Notables of the Webbe family (pre 1700)
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Webbe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Webbe family to Ireland
Some of the Webbe family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 148 words (11 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Webbe family to the New World and Oceana
Many English families left
England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Webbe or a variant listed above:
Webbe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- J Webbe, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Webbe Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Eliza Webbe, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Jane" in 1841