Recorded in several forsm include Stobb, Stobbe, Stubb, the patronymics Stobbs, Stobbes, and Stubbes, the diminutive Stobbie and Stobby, this is an English surname of ancient origins. It derives from the Olde English pre 7th century word 'stybb' meaning the stump of a tree, although it was eventually more usually used in the transferred sense of being a nickname for one of stout stature or given the robust humour of the medieval period, the reverse! It may also be residential and describe somebody who lived in an area covered by tree stumps as for instance in the recording of Robert del Stobbes of Cheshire in the year 1288, or perhaps Richard ate Stubbs in the county of Sussex in 1327. Either way the surname is one of the earliest on record, appearing well before the Domesday Book and at a time when surnames were few and almost always given to a member of the Clergy. Richard Stubbe was a Knight Templar (Crusader) in 1185, Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elfeah Stybb. This was dated 1005 a.d., in the Olde English Name Register. during the reign of King Ethelrede, known as the Unready, 978 - 1016. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.