Tibbits History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Tibbits is tied to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England. It comes 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 Tibbits family

The surname Tibbits 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 Tibbits family

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

Tibbits Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Tibbits has undergone many spelling variations, including Tibbits, Tibbets, Tibbit, Tibbet and others.

Early Notables of the Tibbits family

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

Tibbits Ranking

In the United States, the name Tibbits is the 14,455^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Tibbits migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Tibbits were among those contributors:

Tibbits Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Walter Tibbits, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1651 4

Tibbits Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John D. Tibbits, aged 19, arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "Adriatic (1871)" from Liverpool, England 5
Mary Tibbits, aged 30, arrived in New York in 1894 aboard the ship "Umbria" from Liverpool & Queenstown 5

Tibbits Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Medley Tibbits, aged 29, arrived in City Island New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Minas Prince" from Parrsboro, Nova Scotia 5
Frederick Tibbits, aged 21, arrived in New York City in 1921 aboard the ship "Canadian Planter" from St. John, New Brunswick 5
Dewey Tibbits, aged 20, arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Steel Voyager" from Avonmouth, England 5

Tibbits 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:

Tibbits Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Gerase Tibbits, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1863 6
Gerase Tibbits, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Gertrude" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th February 1863 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Tibbits (post 1700) +

George Tibbits (1763-1849), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1803-1805)
Logan Tibbits, American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York
Richard White Longmuir Tibbits (1846-1924), Canadian insurance agent and politician who represented Victoria County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1883 to 1884
George Richard Tibbits (1933-2008), Australian composer and architect, awarded the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award in 1975
Captain David Tibbits, Chairman of the Board of Trinity House
James Tibbits Willmore (1800-1863), English engraver, born at Erdington, near Handsworth, where his father, James Willmore, was a manufacturer of silver articles 8

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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 4 Feb. 2019