Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Goble
Variants: Goball, Gobel, Gobell
Category: 3 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way on a global basis.
Contact: Carol Barber
Two of my four great-grandmothers were surnamed Goble, one on my paternal line, and the other on the maternal side. Both families came from Sussex, England, just a few miles apart from each other. I wanted to find the link between these two families, and although they have co-lateral names and villages in common, I have not been able to find documentary evidence to prove a connection. Furthermore, on my father's side two Gobles married each other, and further back still (1615) a Jane Goble married into another branch of the family. I therefore have four Goble lines in my direct ancestry.
Consequently, I collected a lot of Goble information and in 1998 I joined the Guild. Most of my information is about families and individuals in the United Kingdom, but I have information relating to Goble's in other countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.
I am very happy to do my best to answer queries about the Goble families. I'm also delighted to receive information about the Gobles too!
I have registered the variants of Gobel and Gobell with the Guild.
I also have some information on families with the variants Goebel, Gobelle, Gobble and Goball.
There are two schools of thought regarding the origin of the surname Goble.
a) There is the possibilty that the name is Germanic in origin and that Goble is the diminutive of Godbert or Godebald. Godbert means good and bright or famous. The meaning of Godebald is good and brave or bold.
b) Others believe that the name is of French origin and is from the occupational name 'Gobet', a glassmaker or glassworker who made goblets, tankards or other drinking vessels.
Personally I prefer to keep an open mind on this. It is not possible, yet, to link the various Goble families together, so it may be that both the patronymic and occupational origins of the name apply.
Walto de Gobel is listed in the lay subsidy rolls for the 'villat de Burgham' (Burpham, Sussex) of 1327 and 1332 source: Sussex Record Society Vol 10 Lay Subsidy Rolls
James Goble (1725 - 1771) was Sheriff for the County of Sussex in 1754, and was granted a Coat of Arms in that year.
Thomas Goble (c1780 - 1869) fought at the Battle of Trafalgar and was appointed secretary to Lord Nelson.
Warwick Goble (1862 - 1943) was an illustrator of children's books.
The 1881 census shows that the Goble / Gobel(l)(e) families were concentrated in the south-east of England. The vast majority of people with these surnames were in Sussex (368), Kent (131), Hampshire and Isle of Wight (124), Middlesex (111) and Surrey (79). There were Gobles in many other counties including Essex and Oxfordshire, and some had also settled in Wales and Scotland.
An analysis of the location of the subscribers to the residential pages of the UK telephone directories in 1996 showed that the majority of Goble / Gobel(l)s still lived in Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey and Kent.
There are Goble families in many parts of mainland Europe and also in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.
I have a significant amount of Goble data, including
For England and Wales
For Scotland
For Ireland
For Sussex
Worldwide