This unusual and interesting name is of French (Norman) origin and is a locational name from a place called St. Aubin or St. Auban in Normandy. St. Aubyn was introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066, and it is known that the famous West Country family of that name are descended from John St. Aubyn (see below) or Paracombe Devon, who married Joan Popham, of Alfoxton, Devon in 1439. This surname also came to Ireland in the Wake of the 1170 Norman Invasion and by 1200 many namebearers had settled in Counties Tipperary and Kilkenny, where the name was gaelicized to Toibin. James Tobin, alias St. Aubyn a descendant of "Strongbow" circa 1100, became Lord of Cumsey circa 1437. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John St. Aubyn, which was dated circa 1425, Paracombe, Devon, during the reign of King Henry VI, "The Founder of Eton", 1422 - 1461. 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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