Recorded in many forms as shown below, this is a medieval English surname, although its ultimate source is pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon. Deriving from a short form of Theobald, it was composed of the elements "theudo", meaning people or race, and "bald", being bold or brave. It is said to have been introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066 and is recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086. The surname from Theobald include Tudball, Tidbold, Tibble, Dybald, Dibble, Tebbit and Tippett, and the diminutives Tebb, Rebbe, Tibb, Tibbe, and Tipp. One Tebbe de Wifardebi is recorded in the Yorkshire Pipe Rolls of 1177, and Tibbe, son of Toke is listed in the Lincolnshire Feet of Fines in 1208. An example of recordings of the surname, from Yorkshire Church Registers, is that of the marriage of Richard Tebb and Katherine Newton, on November 5th 1582, at the church of St. Cruix, in the city of York. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam Tebbe. This was dated 1316, in the records of Leicestershire, during the reign of King Edward 11nd, 1307 - 1327. 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.

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