This very unusual name is quite an early recording which is probably not surprising, given it's origins. In medieval English "V's" and "F's" and sometimes "B's" were interchangeable, and Vobe or Vobbes is believed to be a London area development of the Old English, tribal name "Fobb of Fobba or Fobban" found originally in East Anglia. The village now called Fobbing in Essex was originally the "home" of the Fobbas, and because the name translates as "one who is resident at an enclosure", the background is logical. The name recordings include Charles Vobe christened at St. Mary Whitechapel Stepney on November 11th 1627, whilst the plural form as Vobes (son of Vobe) is recorded on February 6th 1708, when Anne Vobes married Charles Riching at the church of St. Martins in the Field, Westminster in the reign of Queen Anne. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margery Vobe, which was dated August 11th 1605, baptised at St. Botolphs church, Bishopgate, London, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.