This unusual and interesting surname is of Old French origin, and is a diminutive of Job, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller, or a nickname for a wearer, of the long woollen garment known in the Middle English and Old French as a "jube" or "jupe". Job descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Early recordings of the name include William Job (1202), witness, in the Feet of Fines, Norfolk, Elyas Jobbe (1273), in the Hundred Rolls of Suffolk, and Nicholas Jobbe (1318), vicar of Swerdeston, in the Feet of Fines, Norfolk. Church Records list the marriage of Ann Joby to Francis Barker on December 1st 1785, in Rotherham, Yorkshire, and the christening of Harriet Jobey on December 26th 1803 at St. Peter's, Sheffield, Yorkshire. Andrew Joby married Fanny Passant on March 21st 1869 at the Cathedral, Manchester, Lancashire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Michael Jobey, which was dated August 14th 1774, witnessed the christening of his son William, at St. Peter's Cathedral, Sheffield, Yorkshire, during the reign of King George 111, known as "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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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