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McGibbon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

McGibbon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The surname McGibbon is derived from the name Gibb, a short form of the Norman personal name Gilbert. This name was originally derived from the name Gislebert, which is comprised of the Germanic elements "gisil," which means "hostage" or "noble youth," and "berht," which means "bright" or "famous." The name features the distinctive Irish patronymic prefix "fitz," which means "son of" in Anglo-French. This is derived from the Old French word "fils," which ultimately comes from the Latin word "filius," both of which mean "son." The Gaelic form of the surname McGibbon is Mac Giobúin.

Early Origins of the McGibbon family

The surname McGibbon was first found in counties of Mayo and Limerick, where two distinct families arose shortly after Strongbow invasion of Ireland in 1172. The majority of the family hails from Mayo and were a branch of the great Burke family.

They were originally known as MacGibbon Burke. They gave their name to Ballymacgibbon in County Mayo. The Limerick FitzGibbon families are descended from John Fitzgerald, whose three sons became hereditary knights of Desmond in 1333.

Two branches of this family, known respectively as the knights of Glin and the knights of Kerry, remained Fitzgeralds. However, the third branch became known by the surname Fitzgibbon and was led by the White Knight, Maurice FitzGibbon, son of Sir Gilbert fitz John, eldest illegitimate son of John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond. The territory of this branch lay in the southeastern corner of Limerick near County Cork. 1

Early History of the McGibbon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGibbon research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1357, 1419, 1496, 1530, 1543, 1552, 1569, 1575, 1596 and 1608 are included under the topic Early McGibbon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGibbon Spelling Variations

Names were simply spelled as they sounded by medieval scribes and church officials. Therefore, during the lifetime of a single person, his name was often spelt in many different ways, explaining the many spelling variations encountered while researching the name McGibbon. Some of these variations included: Fitzgibbon, Fitzgibbons, MacGibbon, Gibbon, Gibbons, Gibben, Gibbens, Gibbin, Gibbins and many more.

Early Notables of the McGibbon family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Maurice Fitzgibbon, 1st White Knight (d. 1357), second son of John Oge Fitzgerald, alias Fitzgibbon (d. 1569), and Ellen, daughter of Patrick Condon, lord of Condons, accompanied James Fitzmaurice to France in March 1575, returning in July. 2David Fitzgibbon, was the 2nd White Knight; John Fitzgibbon, 3rd White Knight; Maurice Fitzgibbon, 4th White Knight...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McGibbon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGibbon migration to the United States +

Irish immigration to North American began in the late 18th century as many Irish families desired to own their own land. This pattern of immigration grew slowly yet steadily until the 1840s. At that time, a failed crop and a growing population in Ireland resulted in the Great Potato Famine. Poverty, disease, and starvation ravaged the land. To ease their pain and suffering the Irish often looked upon North America as a solution: hundreds of thousands undertook the voyage. Their arrival meant the growth of industry and commerce for British North America and the United States. For the individual Irishman, it meant survival and hope, and the opportunity for work, freedom, and ownership of land. The early immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name McGibbon:

McGibbon Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Archibald McGibbon, who arrived in New Jersey in 1685 3
Hector McGibbon, who arrived in New Jersey in 1685 3
John McGibbon, who arrived in New Jersey in 1685 3

McGibbon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Peter McGibbon, aged 27, who landed in New York or Georgia in 1775 3

McGibbon migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McGibbon Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Elizabeth McGibbon, aged 8 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sobraon" departing 8th May 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 29th June 1847 but she died on board 4

McGibbon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

McGibbon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John McGibbon, Scottish convict from Perth, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on April 16, 1855, settling in Western Australia 5
Donald McGibbon, aged 25, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Navarino" 6

McGibbon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

McGibbon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Archibald McGibbon, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ida Zeigler" in 1863
Jane McGibbon, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1866
Mary J. McGibbon, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1866

Contemporary Notables of the name McGibbon (post 1700) +

Josann McGibbon, American screenwriter
Bill McGibbon, American Republican politician, Elected Arizona State House of Representatives 9th District 1998 7
Sheila R. McGibbon (1921-1997), Irish stage, radio and television actress
Patrick Colm "Pat" McGibbon (b. 1973), former Northern Ireland international footballer
James Wright McGibbon (1901-1965), Canadian timber merchant and federal politician in Quebec
Peter Robert McGibbon (1854-1921), Canadian lumberjack and federal politician in Quebec
Irving John McGibbon (1914-1981), Canadian professional ice hockey right winger
William McGibbon (1690-1756), Scottish composer and violinist
Lewis Owen McGibbon (b. 1991), English actor
Peter McGibbon (1873-1936), Canadian politician
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the McGibbon family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. J. McGibbon, Scottish 2nd Engineer aboard the SS Curaca from Luss, Scotland, United Kingdom who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 8

HMS Royal Oak

Thomas Henry McGibbon (1912-1939), British Seaman with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 9

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 87)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Western Australia, Australia in 1855 with 261 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1855
South Australian Register Friday 22nd February 1856. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Navarino 1856. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/navarino1856.shtml
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html