Recorded as Lobb and Lobbe in England, and Lobe in Ireland, this is an English surname. It has two possible interpretations. The first and most likely is that it is locational from the place called Lobb in Devonshire. This is recorded as "Loba" in the Domesday Book of 1086. The placename derives from an Olde English pre 7th century topographical term meaning a small hill. THis appears to be born out by the fact that the village of Lobb is at the bottom of a hill. There is also a place of the same name in Oxfordshire, recorded in 1208 as "Lobbe", but early records of the distribution of the surname suggest that this place is an unlikely source for the modern name. A second possible derivation of the name is from the Olde English word "lobbe", meaning a spider, and used as a medieval nickname. However there is little corroborative evidence to support this derivation. Early examples of the surname recording include Philip de Lobbe Book of Fees for Devonshire in 1242, and the London church registers record the name that Theophilus Lobb, the son of Stephen and Elizabeth Lobb, was christened at Fetter Lane on August 17th 1678. In Ireland a family called Lobe and possibly Lube are recorded in Counties Kildare, Meath and Cork from about 1690. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Godric Lobbe. This was dated 1130, in the Early London Personal Names list, during the reign of King Henry 1st, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135.

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