Dibley

Recorded in several forms including Dibley, Diblie and the rare Diblee, this is a surname of English origins. It is locational and either a transposed spelling of the village name Dibden meaning "Deep valley", in the county of Hampshire, or more likely from some now "lost" medieval village, of which the only reminder in the 20th century is the surname itself. It is estimated that at least three thousand surnames of the British Isles originate from lost villages, so whilst unusual, the phenomenon is not totally uncommon. As to where the village of Dibley was situated is uncertain, and the meaning is equally obscure. The surname is well recorded in the surviving church records of the diocese of Greater London from Elizabethan times, and the spelling would suggest a translation of "Deep enclosure" from the pre 7th century Old English "deop-leah". This indicates a fenced farm farm or settlement, deep in a forest. Early recordings include Anthonie Dibley, who was christened at St Mary Whitechapel, on October 1st 1587, John Diblie, the son of Thomas Diblie, christened at St Mary Magdalene on January 18th 1607, and Catherine Dibley who married Thomas Adye at St James Clerkenwell, on September 22nd 1617.