Recorded in England as Lobb, Lobbe, and diminutives Lobel, Lobell, and Loble, and Lobe and Lube in Ireland, this is an English surname. It has two possible interpretations. The first and most likely is that it is locational from the place called Lobb in Devonshire. This is recorded as "Loba" in the Domesday Book of 1086. The placename derives from an Olde English pre 7th century topographical term meaning a small hill. This appears to be born out by the fact that the village of Lobb is at the bottom of a hill. There is also a place of the same name in Oxfordshire, recorded in 1208 as "Lobbe", but early records of the distribution of the surname suggest that this place is an unlikely source for the modern name. A second possible derivation of the name is from the Olde English word "lobbe", meaning a spider, and used as a medieval nickname presumbly for somebody who was a good climber. Early examples of the surname recording include Philip de Lobbe in the Book of Fees for Devonshire in 1242. The early surviving church registers include recordings such as Ann Lobel who married John Wolfe at St Dionis Backchurch, city of London on July 27th 1609, Theophilus Lobb, christened at Fetter Lane church also city of London on August 17th 1678, and Frederick Loble christened at St Andrews Enfield, Middlesex, on January 30th 1858. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Godric Lobbe. This was dated 1130, in the Early London Personal Names list, during the reign of King Henry 1st, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135.

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