McKibbon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The surname McKibbon 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 McKibbon is Mac Giobúin.

Early Origins of the McKibbon family

The surname McKibbon 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 McKibbon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McKibbon 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 McKibbon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McKibbon Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name McKibbon revealed many spelling variations including Fitzgibbon, Fitzgibbons, MacGibbon, Gibbon, Gibbons, Gibben, Gibbens, Gibbin, Gibbins and many more.

Early Notables of the McKibbon 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. [2]David 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 McKibbon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McKibbon migration to the United States +

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name McKibbon:

McKibbon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George McKibbon, who arrived in New York in 1810 [3]
Henry McKibbon, aged 10, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1820-1873 [3]
Jane McKibbon, aged 42, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1820-1873 [3]
Ann Jane McKibbon, aged 13, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1820-1873 [3]
Alexander McKibbon, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1833 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name McKibbon (post 1700) +

Fred Cox "Ox" McKibbon, American college football player, baseball player and baseball coach for All-Southern in 1926
Robert Fulton McKibbon, American who had McKibbon House, a historic mansion in Montevallo, Alabama built for him in 1900, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 31, 2001
Al McKibbon (1919-2005), American jazz double bassist
M. J. McKibbon, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from York County, 1885-86, 1889-90 [4]
D. J. McKibbon, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Schuylkill County, 1877-78 [4]
Barbara J. McKibbon, American Republican politician, Chair of Henry County Republican Party, 2002 [4]

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html