MCGIBBON
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Gibbon, Mcgibbon
McGibbon is a surname of Scottish and Irish provenance, widespread across the British Isles and beyond. It is a patronymic name that denotes descent from a progenitor bearing the personal name Gibbon.
The surname is derived from the Gaelic personal name Mac Giobúin, which literally means “son of Gibbon”. The element Mac is the Gaelic word for “son”, and is a common prefix in names of Scottish and Irish ancestry. The personal name Gibbon is a diminutive of Gilbert, a name that entered the British Isles with the Norman invasion of 1066 and is rooted in the Old Germanic name Gisilbert, meaning “bright pledge”. As a result, McGibbon translates to “son of the bright pledge”, a characteristic that has meant the name has been retained across many generations.
Some archival records indicate an alternative Gaelic derivation for the surname, citing MacGobhann as a possible source where Gobhann translates to “smith”. This variant is recorded in a number of historical documents, though it is not the most widely accepted derivation.
Historically, the surname appears in several spelling forms that reflect the orthographic practices of different periods. Common variants include MacGibbon, McKibbon, McKibbin, Gibbon, Gibben and Gibbin. In some instances the prefix Mac or Mc has been omitted altogether, leaving the name as simply Gibbon.
Recorded evidence of the name in Scotland dates back to the mid‑15th century. In 1455 a Donald McGibsone of Ballemuling, Tiree, is noted in extant documents. An Elizabethan witness, Donald M'Gybbon, served as sherrif to Duncan, Lord of Inneryn in 1511. The name also appears in religious contexts, with a Thomas Makgibbon serving as a minister at Monydie in 1574. A further mention occurs in 1613 when Robert Finlay McGibbon was fined for assisting the outlawed Clan MacGregor, an event recorded in several contemporary manuscripts.
While the name is principally Scottish, it is not associated with any particular clan. Many unrelated families adopted the surname for its patronymic nature, resulting in a spread across Scotland and Northern Ireland. During the 19th and 20th centuries members of the surname migrated to other parts of the world. Significant communities now exist in the United States, Australia and Canada, reflecting the broader patterns of emigration from the British Isles.
In contemporary contexts, McGibbon remains a fairly uncommon surname on a global scale, yet it retains a noticeable presence within the United Kingdom, especially in the regions of Scotland and Northern Ireland where patronymic naming traditions continue to be acknowledged.
Typical given names associated with the McGibbon surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Neil
- Paul
- Robert
- Sean
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Christine
- Claire
- Eileen
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Irene
- Kathleen
- Kirsty
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname McGibbon in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 1,329 people named McGibbon in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,901st most common surname in Britain. Around 20 in a million people in Britain are named McGibbon.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named McGibbon
- Pat McGibbon - Northern Irish football player
- Sheila McGibbon - Actress (1921 to 1997)
- Charlie McGibbon - Football player (1880 to 1954)
- Doug McGibbon - Football player (1919 to 2002)
- Lewis McGibbon - Cricketer (1931 to 2012)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.