Tibbet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Tibbet name is an important part of the history of the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. Tibbet is derived from the Old French personal name Theobald, which comes from the Germanic name Theudebald. It probably came to England in the wake of the Norman invasion of 1066, when King William actively encouraged immigration of skilled craftsmen and administrators from the continent. Theobald means "people bold" and was a common continental name. Patronymic surnames arose out of the vernacular and religious given name traditions. The vernacular or regional naming tradition is the oldest and most pervasive type of patronymic surname. According to this custom, names were originally composed of vocabulary elements from the local language. Vernacular names that were derived from ancient Germanic personal names have cognates in most European languages. For example, the court of Charlemagne (742-814) was Christian and Latin-speaking, but the Frankish dialect of Old German was commonly used for personal names. Vernacular names were widespread throughout Normandy. Accordingly, many typical English and French names are in fact, originally of Germanic origin and often have cognates in other European countries. This particular patronym is derived from a diminutive of the name Theobald; a common diminutive of Theobald was Tib, Tib-et is a double diminutive (a diminutive of a diminutive) of the name. [1]

Early Origins of the Tibbet family

The surname Tibbet was first found in Worcestershire where John Tybote was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. Later Stephen Tybet was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire in 1332. Much later in Suffolk, Jaraes Tibbett was listed in 1674. [2]

Early History of the Tibbet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tibbet research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tibbet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tibbet Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Tibbet were recorded, including Tibbits, Tibbets, Tibbit, Tibbet and others.

Early Notables of the Tibbet family

Notables of the family at this time include

Tibbets of Barton Seagrave

Tibbet migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Tibbet family emigrate to North America:

Tibbet Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Tibbet, who arrived in Maryland in 1671 [3]
George Tibbet, aged 35, who landed in New York in 1673 [3]

Tibbet Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Tibbet, who landed in Georgia in 1738 [3]

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. 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)