This interesting and unusual surname is medieval English and means "The Son of Ebb" or "Little Ebb". The personal name "Ebb" derives from the old male given name "Ebbi", popular before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and is a pet form of Herbert. Sometimes the origin is from the female "Ibb" itself a petform of the French Isabel. The surname is first recorded in the late 12th Century, (see below). One, Adam Ebboth, is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset (1327). In the modern idiom the surname has many spelling variations including Ebbels, Ebbetts, Ebbitt, Ebbutt, etc.. The intrusive "L" was a 17th Century introduction to aid pronunciation. Early recordings of the surname from English church registers include; Sarah, daughter of Thomas Ebel, was christened on December 4th 1603, at St. Botolph without Aldgate, London; Hannah Ebbles married William Coates, on November 24th 1783, at Howden, Yorkshire; on January 19th 1796, Edward Ebbels married Sarah Helier, at St. Marylebone, London; and Richard, son of Richard and Elizabeth Ebbles, was christened on June 4th 1840, at St. Pancras Workhouse, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Ebet, which was dated 1195, Pipe Rolls of Norfolk, during the reign of King Richard 1, "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.

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