This very interesting surname is derived from a diminutive form of the pet-name Dibb itself deriving from Theobald, a popular given name in the Medieval times. Theobald, as a personal name entered England probably after the Norman conquest of 1066, and was in use in its Old French forms of 'Teobaud' of 'Tibaut' which go back originally to a Germanic form 'Theudo' meaning people or race and 'bald' meaning bold or brave. The surname was well established in England by the late 13th Century (see below). One Ralph Dibald is mentioned in the 'Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire' (1276). One Edmund Dyboll comes to notice in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls (1524). As the surname developed it was to result in numerous variants as Dibble, Dible, Dybel etc.. Thomas son of Thomas and Alice Dyble was christened at St. Brides, Fleet Street, London on March 6th 1630. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Dibell, which was dated 1275, The Hundred Rolls of Suffolk, during the reign of King Edward 1, 'The Hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.