This interesting name is derived from the early medieval English form of a Norman personal name "Hildebert, Hilbert", introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. The Normans adopted the name from an Old Germanic given name "Hildeberht", which is composed of the elements "hild", battle, strife, with "berht", bright, famous. The personal name is first recorded in England in its Latinized forms, as "Ylebertus", in incolnshire, circa 1150, and as "Hildebertus", again in Lincolnshire, in 1160. One Ilbert de Betelintun is recorded in the Berkshire Curia Rolls of 1212. The name enjoyed some popularity in medieval England, and has generated a number of modern surnames, ranging from Ilbert and Hilbert to Hibbert, Hibberd and Hibbard. Early examples of the surname include: Margaret Hilbert (1283, Suffolk), Roger Hileberd (1327, Somerset), and John Heebarde (1568, Suffolk). Among the recordings of the name in Church Registers is the christening of Robtus (Robert), son of Anthonii Hibbert, on March 23rd 1576 at St. Peter's, Sheffield, in Yorkshire. An early Coat of Arms granted to a Hibbert family is a Barry of eight and a pale countercharged black and white. The Crest is a hand holding a millrind proper. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Ilberd or Hilbert, which was dated 1230, in the "Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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