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Fitzgibbon History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Fitzgibbon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Fitzgibbon

What does the name Fitzgibbon mean?

The surname Fitzgibbon is derived from the name Gibb, a short form of the Norman personal name Gilbert. This name was originally derived from the name Gislebert, which is comprised of the Germanic elements "gisil," which means "hostage" or "noble youth," and "berht," which means "bright" or "famous." The name features the distinctive Irish patronymic prefix "fitz," which means "son of" in Anglo-French. This is derived from the Old French word "fils," which ultimately comes from the Latin word "filius," both of which mean "son." The Gaelic form of the surname Fitzgibbon is Mac Giobúin.

Early Origins of the Fitzgibbon family

The surname Fitzgibbon was first found in counties of Mayo and Limerick, where two distinct families arose shortly after Strongbow invasion of Ireland in 1172. The majority of the family hails from Mayo and were a branch of the great Burke family.

They were originally known as MacGibbon Burke. They gave their name to Ballymacgibbon in County Mayo. The Limerick FitzGibbon families are descended from John Fitzgerald, whose three sons became hereditary knights of Desmond in 1333.

Two branches of this family, known respectively as the knights of Glin and the knights of Kerry, remained Fitzgeralds. However, the third branch became known by the surname Fitzgibbon and was led by the White Knight, Maurice FitzGibbon, son of Sir Gilbert fitz John, eldest illegitimate son of John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond. The territory of this branch lay in the southeastern corner of Limerick near County Cork. 1

Early History of the Fitzgibbon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fitzgibbon research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1357, 1419, 1496, 1530, 1543, 1552, 1569, 1575, 1596 and 1608 are included under the topic Early Fitzgibbon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fitzgibbon Spelling Variations

During the lifetime of an individual person, his name was often spelt by church officials and medieval scribes the way it sounded. An examination of the many different origins of each name has revealed many spelling variations for the name: Fitzgibbon, Fitzgibbons, MacGibbon, Gibbon, Gibbons, Gibben, Gibbens, Gibbin, Gibbins and many more.

Early Notables of the Fitzgibbon family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Maurice Fitzgibbon, 1st White Knight (d. 1357), second son of John Oge Fitzgerald, alias Fitzgibbon (d. 1569), and Ellen, daughter of Patrick Condon, lord of Condons, accompanied James Fitzmaurice to...
David Fitzgibbon, was the 2nd White Knight; John Fitzgibbon, 3rd White Knight; Maurice Fitzgibbon, 4th White Knight (d. 1419); John Fitzgibbon, 5th White Knight; Maurice Mor Fitzgibbon, 6th White Knig...

Fitzgibbon Ranking

In the United States, the name Fitzgibbon is the 11,710^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Fitzgibbon migration to the United States +

Ireland's Great Potato Famine left the country's inhabitants in extreme poverty and starvation. Many families left their homeland for North America for the promise of work, freedom and land ownership. Although the Irish were not free of economic and racial discrimination in North America, they did contribute greatly to the rapid development of bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Eventually, they would be accepted in other areas such as commerce, education, and the arts. An examination of immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name Fitzgibbon:

Fitzgibbon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Kolt Fitzgibbon, aged 16, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 3
Ellen Fitzgibbon, aged 36, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3
Mary Fitzgibbon, aged 11, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3
Patt Fitzgibbon, aged 10, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3
Thomas Fitzgibbon, aged 13, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fitzgibbon migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fitzgibbon Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Fitzgibbon, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Fitzgibbon Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Michael Fitzgibbon, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1830
Maurice Fitzgibbon, aged 40, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
Catherine Fitzgibbon, aged 36, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
Edward Fitzgibbon, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1840
John Fitzgibbon, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fitzgibbon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Fitzgibbon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Fitzgibbon, (b. 1789), aged 29, Irish house servant who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 7 years for shop lifting, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 26th July 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Robert Fitzgibbon, English convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Michael Fitzgibbon, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lysander" in 1839 6
Miss Catherine Fitzgibbon, (b. 1820), aged 23, Irish house servant who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "East London" on 10th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mrs. Mary Fitzgibbon, (b. 1803), aged 40, Irish needle woman who was convicted in County Kerry, Ireland for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "East London" on 10th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), she is listed with 6 children, she died in 1863 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fitzgibbon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Fitzgibbon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Fitzgibbon, (b. 1838), aged 18, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 24th October 1856 8
P. Fitzgibbon, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Tongariro" in 1888

Contemporary Notables of the name Fitzgibbon (post 1700) +

Herb Fitzgibbon (b. 1942), American nationally ranked tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s
Edward Fitzgibbon (1803-1857), Irish writer who used the pseudonym Ephemera
Gerald Fitzgibbon (1866-1942), Irish barrister, independent Teachta Dála, one of the original judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland
John FitzGibbon (1792-1851), 2nd Earl of Clare, Privy Councillor and Governor of Bombay
John FitzGibbon (1748-1802), 1st Earl of Clare, Attorney-General and Lord Chancellor of Ireland
James FitzGibbon (1782-1863), Irish soldier in the British army, a hero of the War of 1812
Nick FitzGibbon (b. 1987), Canadian CFL football running back
Flight Lieutenant Desmond Fitzgerald Fitzgibbon (1890-1919), English Royal Naval Air Service flying ace, accredited with eight aerial victories during World War I
Fred Fitzgibbon (1917-1999), Australian rules footballer
Daniel Fitzgibbon (1976-2008), Australian silver medalist Paralympic sailor at the 2008 Beijing Games
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Fitzgibbon family +

Victoria steamboat disaster

Richard Fitzgibbon, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LYSANDER 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Lysander.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/east-london
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html