Hibben History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The generations and branches of the Hibben family share a name that has its roots in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. The name Hibben comes from Robert. The name is derived from a pet form of the personal name Robert. In England, in the Middle Ages, rhyming was often used as a device. This practice continued on into the 18th and 19th centuries; cockney, a London dialect of the 19th century, used rhymes almost exclusively to get its point across without the "upper classes" knowing what was being said. A common diminutive of Robert is Rob and Hobb. 1 2

Early Origins of the Hibben family

The surname Hibben was first found in Worcestershire where the singular form of the name was first found. Henry Hobben was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327 and later Alice Hobben was registered in the Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire in 1332. Later again, Richard Hobbyn was registered in Essex in 1408. 3

Early History of the Hibben family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hibben research. Another 34 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1656 and 1770 are included under the topic Early Hibben History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hibben Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Hibben include Hobbins, Hobbin, Hobbis, Hobbiss, Hoben and others.

Early Notables of the Hibben family

More information is included under the topic Early Hibben Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hibben migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Hibben or a variant listed above:

Hibben Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

T N Hibben, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Hibben (post 1700) +

Paxton Pattison Hibben (1880-1928), American diplomat, journalist, author and humanitarian
Samuel Galloway Hibben (1888-1972), American lighting designer and engineer who designed the lighting for the Holland Tunnel, the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument
John Grier Hibben (1861-1933), American Presbyterian minister and educator, President of Princeton University from 1912–1932
Frank Cumming Hibben (1910-2002), American archaeologist and author whose research focused on the U.S. Southwest
Gil Hibben (b. 1935), American custom knifemaker who designed the first line of Browning hunting knives in 1968, the American Kenpo Knife for Ed Parker, and the Rambo Knife for the films Rambo III and Rambo, President of the Knifemakers' Guild
Thomas Hibben, American politician, Mayor of Wilmington, Ohio, 1833-34, 1841-42 5
Samuel E. Hibben, American politician, Member of Ohio State Senate 6th District, 1852-53 5

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html