Hobley
Hobley is a surname.
A possible meaning is "The little people from the meadow", derived from a combination of the words "hob" and "ley". In Middle English, the word "hob" means a hobgoblin, sprite, or elf, and "ley" is a grassy meadow.
Despite the spelling, the name is pronounced with an "obb" not an "obe". This is probably because it is a combination of two words, and the pronunciation has not changed as the words have combined.
Notable people with the name include:
- Amelia Dyer, English serial killer and baby farmer
- Charles William Hobley, pioneering British colonial administrator in Kenya
- Hannah Hobley, British actress and singer
- John William Dixon Hobley, British lawyer, Attorney General of Bermuda and then Hong Kong
- Liffort Hobley, American football player
- McDonald Hobley, British actor, early television announcer, presenter and commentator
- Pamela Hobley, American teenager who disappeared in 1969
- Peter Hobley Davison, British professor of English
- Tina Hobley, British television actress and radio presenter