This name, with variant spellings Grimolbie, Grimmolby etc., is of English Locational origin from a place in Linclonshire (east of Louth) called Grimoldby. Recorded variously as Grimalbi and Grimoldbi in The Domesday Book of 1086, and as Grimolbi circa 1115 in early records of Lincolnshire, the first element is the Old Scandinavian personal name Grimaldi, from the Old Norse "grimr", a mask or helmet, plus "byr", homestead or settlement; hence, "Grimaldi's settlement". The surname from this source was first recorded in the latter part of the 13th Century, (see below). Other early recordings include Gilbert de Grimoldeby, and Mariota de Grimmolby, (Lincolnshire, 1273). Church registers of that county show the christening of one, Christ(p)ofer Grimelbie in Clee on June 20th 1589, the christening of Christopher, son of John Grimoldby, in Tetney on August 10th 1759, and the marriage in Trusthorpe of John Grimoldby to Mary Anne Frow on August 14th 1827. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Grimmolby, which was dated 1272, in the "Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of The Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.

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