Some thoughts on the Origin of the surname Webb.

Compiled by Jonathan Webb Deiss, 2001

 

It is obvious to most that it is related to the profession or art of weaving cloth. Etymology provides many examples and explanations of this relation :

 

(1) Pronunciation : listen to a .wav file

 

(2) Etymology from the Oxford English Dictionary ...Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1933, 1961. Volume XII V-Z, page 243

 

Webbe. Obs. Also 5 web. [ME. webbe represents (1) OE. webba masc.; (2) OE. webbe fem. (only in freoduwebbe peace-weaver, woman); OTEUT. Types *wabjon-, -on-, f. *wab-: *web- : see Weave v. The word survives in the surnames Webb, Webbe.]

1.       A male weaver.

c. 1100 in Wr4.-Wulcker 188/10 Textor, webba.   a 1327 Pol. Songs (Camden) 188 The webbes ant the fullaris assenbleden hem alle.   c. 1386 Chaucer Prol. 362 A Webbe, a Dyere, and a Tapycer.   1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 12 Johanni de Bokkynge, webbe, ciui Londonie. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. x.204 These eremites. Whilom were workmen, webbes and tailours.   c 1400 tr. Secreta Secrect., Gov. Lordsh. 99 Some that assemblyd yn a toune, & herberd hem yn a webbe hous, to whom that nyght a child was born.   1403 Will of John Oxstret (Somerset Ho.), Johanni Anketell Webbe de Sarum.

b. In gen. sing. or plur. (OE. webban, webbena) with light and loom.

1346 Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 3. Si aliquod instrumentum textoria, videlicet. Webaniam [sic] de nouo fiat. Ibid. 4. 1403 Will of Ralph Stylle (Somerset Ho.), Lego ad Iumen beate marie vocatum Webben ly3t xi d.

2.   A female weaver, a Webster.

1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 215 My wfy was a webbe and wollen clothe made. a 1425 Cursor M. 1525 (trin.) She was the formast web [Cott. webster] in kynde that men of that crafte dud fynde.

 

(3) Etymology from Buck, Carl Darling. A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages... University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1949, 1988. page 409-410

 

6.33 WEAVE...

1.       IE *au-, with extensions, a. *webh-, b. *audh-, wedh-, c. *(a)weg-, Walde-P. 1.16 f., 247 f., 257.

 

(4) Etymology from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company.

 

To weave, also to move quickly. Derivatives include web, weevil, and wobble.

1. weave, woof1, from Old English wefan, to weave, from Germanic *weban. 2. weft, from Old English wefta, weft, cross thread, from Germanic *wefta-. 3. Suffixed o-grade form *wobh-yo-. web, webster, from Old English web(b), web, from Germanic *wabjam, fabric, web. 4. weevil, from Old English wifel, weevil (< “that which moves briskly”), from suffixed Germanic form *webila-. 5a. (i) goffer, from Old French gaufre, honeycomb, waffle; (ii) wafer, from Old North French waufre, wafer. Both (i) and (ii) from a source akin to Middle Low German wfel, honeycomb; b. waffle1, from Middle Dutch wfel, waffle. Both a and b from suffixed Germanic form *wabila-, web, honeycomb. 6. Possibly Germanic *wab-, to move back and forth as in weaving. a. wave, from Old English wafian, to move (the hand) up and down; b. waver, from Middle English waveren, to waver; c. wobble, from Low German wabbeln, to move from side to side, sway. 7. Suffixed zero-grade form *ubh--. hypha, from Greek huph, web. Pokorny ebh- 1114.)

 

(5) Heraldry: the arms identified as Webb are of unknown origin and any linkage to my line is dubious at best.   Heraldry is an inexact science in the United States, receiving no official sanction from any governmental body. In England, there is a College of Arms, whose duty is to regulate the granting and maintenance of armorial bearings. As far as I understand the rules of heraldry, it is not possible for descendants of a particular arm holder to utilize that individual’s arms, but there may be exceptions to this rule. In general, arms are not passed to every lineal descendant and any modern use of arms granted to someone years ago is improper and in some cases, illegal.

 

(6) Frequency of name: A surname (common: 1 in 1388 families; popularity rank in the U.S.: #125)

 

(7) The Early Modern English Dictionaries Database Search Utility provides several examples of the use of the word webb and webbe in Early English Literature. Enter Webb in the search field.

 

-

 

| Webb’s Removed West || Webb’s in the Military || Webb Gallery || Webb Settlement |

 

 

webb-deiss research 2001-2007 | jondeiss@yahoo.com | design by Ben Azzara