Horribine

This unusual and interesting name is English. It has its origins in a medieval nickname composed of the elements 'har', the Olde English pre 7th Century word meaning 'hoar, grey haired', and 'Robin', a pet-form of the personal name 'Robert'. The Normans were mainly responsible for introducing 'Robert' into England, although it is found occasionally in England before the Conquest of 1066. It derives from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements 'hrod', renown, and berht', bright, famous. Other medieval nickname surnames of a similar composition to that of Henrie Horerobyn, recorded in the Calendar of Wills in Devon in 1596, are 'Joly robin', (1332, Cumberland) and Agnes Greyadam (1297, Cornwall). The modern surname has three forms, Horobin, Horabin, and Horrabin. John Horobin married Alice Bradburne in London on the 30th March 1662. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Horabin of Westhoughton, which was dated 1591, in the Records of Wills at Chester, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603. 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.