Hoby

Hoby is the name of a village and civil parish in England. The village is located in the county of Leicestershire and forms part of the civil parish known as Hoby with Rotherby, a rural area in the East Midlands. The parish comprises the village of Hoby and the nearby settlement of Rotherby, and it is characterized by agricultural land and a sparsely populated landscape.

The name Hoby is also used as a surname. The Hoby family was historically associated with lands in Leicestershire and the surrounding region, reflecting the common practice of place-based surnames in English gentry history. A well-known historical bearer of the name is Thomas Hoby (c. 1530–1566), who served as an English diplomat and is noted for translating Boccaccio’s Decameron into English.

Today, Hoby remains a small, rural settlement within Leicestershire’s countryside. It is part of a broader regional tapestry of villages that preserve medieval and early modern rural life in the East Midlands. The locality is typical of the area in its quiet character, landscape, and historical associations, offering insight into England’s rural heritage.