Job

Recorded in many forms including Job, Jobb, Jupp, Jopp, the diminutives Joblin, Jobling, Jobbling, Jopling, Jobbing, Jobbings, the dialectals Joberne, Joburn, Joburne, Yerborn, and others, this is an English surname but one of at least four possible origins! The first is a 'Crusader' name introduced into the British Isles in the 12th century by returning knights from the Holy Land, and deriving from the Hebrew personal name Job. This has the ancient meaning of the "persecuted one", because Job, the central character in the biblical book of that name, was tormented with illness. Secondly the name may have originated as a nickname for a person who suffered illness, but from the French word "job" meaning "unfortunate". Thirdly Job can be an occupational surname for a cooper, deriving from the English word "jobbe" meaning a vessel containing four gallons. Finally the name may derive from the Olde French word "jube" which was a long woollen garment for men, and given to a maker or seller of these clothes. The coat of arms most associated with the family has the blazon of a silver shield, charged with a blue chevron between three blue eagle's heads erased. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Job. This was dated 1202, in the Court Rolls of Norfolk, during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland" 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.