Recorded in the spellings of Giblett, Gibling and Giblin, this is an English surname, which is also recorded in Scotland. It is a double diminutive of the medieval nickname Gib or Gibb, itself a derivative of the pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon personal name Gilbert. It is not clear when this name (Gilbert) was first introduced into England, but it was certainly popular with the Norman invaders of 1066. Without doubt the most famous of the name, and the one person who guaranteed its popularity, was the priest known to history as St Gilbert of Sempringham, who lived from 1083 to 1189, making him one hundred and six at death. He was the founder of the only English order of monks and nuns, the Gilbertines. With the diminutive forms, they are built up in several ways using "el or l", short forms of little, and et, a short form of petit, as well as "in or ing" reduced forms of the word kin(sman). Howver spelt the meaning is the same, which is "the son, of the son, of Gib". Early examples of the name recordings include: Sergerus Gibelin in the charters known as the Curia Regis for the county of Cornwall in the year 1206, Dera Gibelot in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, and Simon Gibelin of Sussex in the Subsidy Tax rolls of that county in 1327. Surnames over the centuries have continued to develop, sometimes moving far from their original spellings.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024