This is surely one of the most unusual surnames on record. It seems to be involved in a total disappearing act, having over the centuries lost two thirds of its original name. This assumes that it is a development from the original Anglo-Saxon (German) personal name of the 8th centurt a.d. 'Hugg - beort', later anglicised to 'Hubert'. The elements of the name translate as 'famous mind', which may help to account for its long period of popularity, spanning over one thousand years. It has also been suggested that the modern name, first recorded in the 17th century, is a shortening of 'hubesch', a word meaning pretty or handsome, and a nickname surname from this early German would be quite logical. Finally the German for 'an area of land' is 'huber', and it is possible the 'Hub(bs)' is from this source. What is clear is that from the first recording below, the surname has regularly undergone changes, and examples of these include Francis Hubs who married Jane Ward at Sessay, near York, on May 11th 1645, and Jana Hubes, the daughter of Guilimi and Amaie (so much for spelling) Hubes, christened at the church of St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on August 17th 1637. A later recording is that of Maria Martha Hub, who married John Peter Hahn at Catton, North Yorkshire, on May 29th 1798. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Benjamin Hubbs, which was dated August 24th 1628, married Jane Goddard at Monk Fryston, Yorkshire, during the reign of King Charles 1, known as 'The Martyr', 1625 - 1649. 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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