The Tibbetts surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,538 people carried this name — #5,327 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 45,000 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,373 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Tibbetts surname

A surname originating as a patronymic or as a matronymic.

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Theobald and Isabel.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tibbetts» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Theobald’.

His entry covers Tibbatts, Tibbitts, Tibbits, Tibbetts, Tibbet, Tibbett, Tibbitt and Tibbott.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 749 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Tibbetts was found among the farmers of Warwickshire: 16 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Tibbetts and Tibbitts.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Warwickshire 16

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Tibbetts in American newspapers,
1895–1913.

Newspaper page from The Republican carrying the name Tibbetts
The Republican 1895-07-25
Newspaper page from The Madison Daily Leader carrying the name Tibbetts
The Madison Daily Leader 1913-06-18
Newspaper page from The Day Book carrying the name Tibbetts
The Day Book 1913-07-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 55,469 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tibbetts in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1960s.

686 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tibbetts. The most, 146, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 249
Queensland 232
Victoria 125
South Australia 40
Western Australia 27
Tasmania 10
ACT (Canberra) 1
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tibbetts.

Who carried it

People named Tibbetts,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ephraim Tibbetts d. 1850
  • James Tibbetts 1795–1843
  • Helen Tibbetts 1924–1997 · badminton player

Wikidata (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Tibbetts,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States569 records

569 records of the Tibbetts name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 267
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 130
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 67
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 58
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 16
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John C. Tibbetts

    Born 1920 in Maine. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; welder from Cumberland County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1979, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Ramsey Tibbetts

    Born 1949; from Solvang, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1969 in Long An, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Enoch Tibbetts

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool, aged 52; mechanic. From Cradley; bound for Trenton.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 569 records for Tibbetts in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada172 records

172 records of the Tibbetts name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 162
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Fraser Tibbetts

    Buried in 1994 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 61.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Owen Midley Tibbetts

    Died 1920 in Parrsboro, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Wilmot Ashby Tibbetts

    Died in service in 1941.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 172 records for Tibbetts in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia55 records

55 records of the Tibbetts name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 17
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 15
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 15
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Ambrose Tibbetts

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Layton, arriving 1829; ticket of leave 1838. Native of Birmingham.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Fanny Tibbetts

    Arrived in Queensland in 1886 aboard the Quetta, aged 21.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ambrose Tibbetts

    Farmer of Taradale, Victoria; died 1881.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 55 records for Tibbetts in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Tibbetts name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Tibbetts

    Gunner, Royal Horse Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Tibbetts

    London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Tibbetts in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Tibbetts.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tibbetts is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Tibbetts volume
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