Frequency: (604)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
English: from the Middle English personal name Tubbe, apparently derived from either Old Norse Tubbi or Old English Tubba (an unattested form, evidence for which is found in the place name Tubney, Berkshire). There is no evidence to support the suggestion that it might be a metonymic occupational name or nickname from Middle English tub ‘barrel’.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
