Posted by IAIN HOBBS on January 07, 19102 at 05:29:22:
In Reply to: Hobbs Family History posted by Paula Dugdale on April 20, 19101 at 06:09:51:
There are three origins of the Hobbs surname that I know of.
The very oldest is from the Saxon term for the Celtic HIgh Priests who presided at Religeous Ceremonies. The Saxons called them HOBS which is their term for a Nature Spirit. These same priests were also called Wizards and Witches because they were the Wise Men and Women of the Community. They were the most powerful people in the entire Entire United Kingdom and literally had the power of life and death. They were higher than a King, in terms of status. However because of the Witch persecution in the middle ages. Their practice of Witchcraft went underground and they stopped keeping written records. However the fact that the family survuves at all shows that they succeeded in surviving. YThis is where my family descends from. The holder of the position of High Priest and/or Priestess was known as a HOB. The Priest or Priestess in charge of a Religeous gathering, which in Saxon was known as a COVEN, was passed down generation to generation. You could be initiated as a Witch but you could only be born a HOB. For a Hobbs, being born was their initiation into Witchcraft.
The next oldest origin is from the Viking and Saxon name HRODBEARTSON or HRODBEARTSSON but this term is usually only in the north of England, especially Yorkshire. This means Son of Robert.
The third oldest comes from the french term for someone who HOBBYS, meaning somebody who hunts with a Falcon instead of a Hawk. This term comes from Gloucestershire.
Hope this is of help to you.