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Job Family History

Job Name Meaning

German French Polish Czech Slovak Croatian and Slovenian; Hungarian (Jób): from the personal name (Hebrew Iyyob) borne by a Biblical character the central figure in the Book of Job who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him. The name has been variously interpreted as ‘Where is the (divine) father?’ and ‘Persecuted one’. The surname may also be a nickname for a wretched person or one tormented with boils (which was one of Job's afflictions). Compare Yob ; see also 5 below. English: from the Middle English personal name Jop(e) Joppe or Job(be) (perhaps also Jubbe). The name may have more than one source but it was certainly a pet form of Geoffrey (see Jeffrey ). Joppe was originally a pet form of Joffrey an Old French side-form of Geoffrey. The change of final /f/ to /p/ is the same as that in Jeff(e) to Jepp(e) (see Jepson ). English: perhaps from a Middle English pet form of Old French Jobert; compare Jobin . English: nickname from Middle English joppe (medieval Latin joppus) ‘fool’ perhaps related to 16th-century French jobe ‘simpleton’. Compare Middle English jobard and jobet ‘blockhead fool’. English: perhaps also from the Biblical personal name Job (see 1 above) which does not seem to have been used as a personal name in Britain in the Middle Ages and the commonly held beliefs (for example in Bardsley Weekley and Reaney and Wilson) that Job was a (frequent) character in the medieval mystery plays and that this gave rise to a popular Middle English personal name have no foundation.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Jobe, Noe, Joy, Kos, Jo, Ji, Goy, Bow, Joa, Low

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Where is the Job family from?

You can see how Job families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Job family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Job families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 55 Job families living in Ontario. This was about 57% of all the recorded Job's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Job families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Job surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Job ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer was the top reported job for people in the Canada named Job. 54% of Job men worked as a Farmer. .

View Census Data for Job | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    54%
  • Draughtsman
    16%
  • Clerk
    16%
  • Labourer
    16%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Job family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 36,000 census records available for the last name Job. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Job census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Job

Passenger Lists

There are 6,000 immigration records available for the last name Job. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Job immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 28,000 military records available for the last name Job. For the veterans among your Job ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Job lifespan?

Between 1948 and 2004, in the United States, Job life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1965, and highest in 1995. The average life expectancy for Job in 1948 was 73, and 78 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Job

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