The little village of huby between Leeds and Harrogate is the probable origination of this name. Huby is believed to be a development of 'Hugo's by' with 'by' being the Anglo - Saxon for a farm, whilst Hugo is the Olde 8th Century German personal name which means 'mind or heart' - and was very popular with the Crusaders. All the early recordings of the name were in Shadwell, North Leeds which is to be expected, locational names being given to former inhabitants. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robertus Huby, (Drafter). which was dated 1379, The Poll Tax records of Shadwell. during the reign of King Richard II, Richard of Bordeau 1378 - 1400. 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.