This interesting nickname surname recorded in the spellings of Tubb, Tubbs, and Tubby, is of early medieval French origin. It derives from the personal name Theobald also recorded as Tebald, Tibalt, Teoband and Tibaut. Theobald is composed of the Germanic elements "theudo", meaning "people", and "bald", bold or brave, and has given rise to a great many variant surnames, including: Tuddall, Tubbles, Dybald, Dipple, Tibbet, Tebbutt, Theobald, Tidbold and others. The personal name is believed to have been introduced into England by followers of William, The Conqueror, after the Norman Invasion of 1066. The surname was first recorded in the late 12th Century (see below), and the following examples illustrate the name development since then: Hugo Tebaud, in the 1202 Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire; William Theobald, in the 1250 Feet of Fines of Suffolk; Simon Tebalde in the rolls of Ramsey Abbey, in 1255, and Thomas Tubb, in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire, in the year 1379. The epic story of the Middle Ages, "Reynard the Fox", contains "Tibert", the cat; and hence the modern-day "Tib" or "Tibbles". Recordings from London Church Registers include: the marriage of Francis Theobald and Judith Conquest on February 20th 1622, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Tomas Teobald, which was dated 1199, in the "Pipe Rolls of the county of Gloucestershire". This was during the reign of King Richard 1st, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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