The tradition is that the first of this name DABBS in Scotland came from France in the time of Mary Queen of Scots, and that the name is Scotticized from De Bois. The surname, which is simply from Dobb, a pet form of Robert existed in Scotland long before the time of the Queen, so this story is probably untrue. Thomas Doby (the younger) was a burgess of Peblis, and the son of Thomas Doby the (elder) was mentioned in a document regarding the lands of Peebles in 1471. John Dobie appears in 1490, and Sir Alexander Doby, a Pope's knight, was recorded in Perth in 1506. John Dob was rector of Ancrum in 1525 and William Doby was a witness in Dumfries in the year 1542. An annual rent paid to William Doby in Peebles was recorded in 1557. Richard Dobie had a charter of the land of Staniehill in the year 1608. The earliest hereditary surnames in England are found shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and are of Norman French origin rather than native English. On the arrival of the Normans they identified themselves by references to the estates from which they came from in northern France. These names moved rapidly on with their bearers into Scotland and Ireland. Others of the Norman Invaders took names from the estates in England which they had newly acquired. Other instances of the name in England mention Edmund Dobye and Ann Parsley who were married at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in 1630, and Thomas Woodward wed Alice Dobbey at the same church in the year 1682. John Bayley and Mary Doby were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1765. In many parts of central and western Europe, hereditary surnames began to become fixed at around the 12th century, and have developed and changed slowly over the years. As society became more complex, and such matters as the management of tenure, and in particular the collection of taxes were delegated to special functionaries, it became imperative to distinguish a more complex system of nomenclature to differentiate one individual from another. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Registered in Co. York. |
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