A Scottish and English surname the Gibbs family name comes from the Old English terms ‘gislberht’ and ‘gislbeorht’ which meant bright hostage. From those terms the name Gilbert came and then the shorter form of Gibb and Gibbs.

Spelling variations for Gibbs include Gibb, Gibbe and Gibbes.

The Gibbs surname is spread across Wales and England. The greater numbers of Gibbs families live in the city of London, Kent, Somerset, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.

In Scotland the original families lived in Inverness-shire. They resettled into Aberdeenshire, Midlothian and Lanarkshire.

Many Northeastern and Southern states in the United States have high populations with the Gibbs surname. The highest are in the states of Georgia, North and South Carolina, Texas, New York, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Famous: James Gibbs (18th century English architect), Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (English opera and symphonic composer), Marla Gibbs (actress), Jackson Gibbs (owner of NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing), William Francis Gibbs (naval designer of the SS United States ocean liner), Cory Gibbs (soccer player) and May Gibbs (children’s book author and illustrator in Australia).