Hi, > Does anyone know if the >addition of the "s" on Dobbin particularly means anything? Well no one knows for sure. I've read several books on the evolution of these surnames of ours. The 's localizes to northern England , an area that actually stretches into the lowlands on the eastern side. It's not likely Gaelic was ever spoken in these areas -- Brithonic was and has left its mark on various placenames. In fact the kingdom of King Lot is beleive to be Lothian. After the displacement of the Brithonic speaking folk, you had Angles and Saxons, and then the Danes. From this area you have most 's' surnames originating. Experts have debated whether they are the same as the -son surnames: Williamson, Johnson, etc, etc. Colin D Rogers "The Surname Detective: Investigating surname Distribution in England, 1086-present day" (Manchester University Press, 1995) found that in early lists of names the only people who had them were widows. Widows were the only women whose names show up on these tax lists. They had the s. It appears to perhaps be a genitive form "Roger's wife== Rogers . Dobbins in in Reaney and Wilson "English Surnames" but only Dobbin is in Black "Surnames of Scotland". Which seems to suggest that the s form is predominant further south -- English, not Scots, but I wouldn't draw this conclusion without some research. And on the other hand, the 's in an individual case could have originated in the slip of the hand of a clerk. You don't know. Sorry I can't be of more help. Even the experts don't know and have only conjecture. Linda Merle