This most interesting surname is of Old Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from two places so called in Lincolnshire, near Louth and Brigg, or from Maunby in Yorkshire. The former placenames in Lincolnshire, both recorded as "Mannebi" in the Domesday Book of 1086, derive from the Old Danish, Old Swedish personal name "Manni", plus the Olde English "by", from the Old Norse "byr", "baer", settlement, a common placename element in parts of England where Scandinavians settled. Maunby, however, is composed of the Old Norse personal name "Magni", and "by", as above, and appeared as "Mannebi" in the Domesday Book. Locational names were originally given to the Lord of the Manor or as a means of identification to those who left their place of origin to seek work elsewhere. Hugh de Mageneby was recorded in 1226 in the Feet of Fines of Yorkshire, while Thomas de Mauneby was listed in 1336 in the Feet of Fines of Yorkshire. Thomas Manneby was recorded in 1403 in the "Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem" (Yorkshire). George Manby (1765 - 1854) invented an apparatus for firing a life line to shipwrecks. His brother Aaron (1776 - 1850) built the first steamship, and also the first to cross from London to Paris. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Antonius de Manebi, which was dated 1181, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King William 1, known as "William the Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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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