This ancient medieval surname, recorded in the spellings of Noble, the much rarer patronymics of Nobles and Nobleson, and the unusual dialectals Knoble and Knobell is of Old French pre 8th century origin. The word "noble" was probably introduced into Britain by the Norman Invaders of 1066. It translates as meaning "high born", and whilst generally regarded in the 20th century as being a theatrical nickname for somebody who played the part of a noble in the popular travelling theatres of the day, originally did have "noble" connatations. It is interesting that the very first recording as shown below was that of a Knight Templar or Crusader of some status, being a member of the Christian Army lead by Richard, Coeur de Lion. This force tried unsuccessfully on many occasions to free the Holy Land from the Moslems during the 12th century. Early examples of the surname recordings include Hugh le Noble, of Bedford in 1273, and Robertus Nobilii, a Latinized form of the name, in the Poll Tax rolls for Yorkshire in 1379. Church recordings dating back to the famous Reformation include Damyan Noble, christened on July 17th 1544 at St. Nicholas Acons, London, and Christopher Knoble who married Ann Jarrat at the church of St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on October 22nd 1717. Ann Noble, aged 22, was one of the earliest colonists to the New World, when she left London on the ship "Expectation" in May 1635. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Peter Noble. This was dated 1185, in the "Records of the Knight Templars of England". This was during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189.