A Scottish and English surname, Gibson is from the name Gibb or Gib. This form is short for the name Gilbert. Original spellings included Gislebert and Gillebert. The name can refer to noble youth and famous.

Spelling variations of Gibson include Gibbson, Gilson, Gibb, Gibsoun and Gipson.

The Gibson families live in the northern end of England, centered mostly in Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire counties. Scotland’s counties of Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire have large numbers of those with the Gibson surname.

The states of Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, California, New Jersey and Ohio have the greater percentage of those with the Gibson surname.

Famous: Althea Gibson (professional tennis player), Charles Gibson (TV journalist), Edward Gibson (U. S. ), George Ernest Gibson (chemist from Scotland), Henry Gibson (actor, comic), Josh Gibson (early professional baseball player), Mel Gibson (actor, director from Australia), Robert ‘Hoot’ Gibson (U. S. astronaut) and William Gibson (16th century English Catholic martyr).