Hobbs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by many different people over the centuries
2. A surname of English origin shared by various individuals in English-speaking countries
3. A common English family name, passed down through generations of people with that last name

Etymology: The surname "Hobbs" is a patronymic, meaning "son of Hob," and "Hob" was a medieval pet form of "Robert." Medieval English speakers shortened and affectionately altered many given names this way, and "Hob" was one of the most common, so "Robert" was often rendered as Hob or Rob in everyday speech. Adding the suffix "-s" turned the nickname into a family name, the same pattern that gave us Jones, Williams and Roberts. The word "hob" itself did not stay a name. It also came to denote a raised hearth shelf beside a fire and, in folklore, a hobgoblin or household spirit, though the link between the personal name and these senses is not something the surviving evidence settles. The surname, by contrast, is straightforward: a son of a man called Hob, descended from a Robert.