Libbie
A diminutive of Elizabeth, meaning "my God is bountiful" or "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,047 living Americans carry the first name Libbie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Libbie today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Libbie births was 1915 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Libbie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 327,368 Americans
Peak year
1915
49 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,859
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Libbie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Libbie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 362 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Libbie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Libbie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Libbies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Libbie, while Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Libbie
The name Libbie is a diminutive form of the name Elizabeth, which originated from the Hebrew name Elisheva, meaning "God is my oath." The name Elizabeth dates back to ancient times and was borne by several biblical figures, including the wife of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and the mother of John the Baptist.
Libbie emerged as a popular nickname for Elizabeth in the 19th century, particularly in English-speaking countries. It is believed to have been derived from the shortened form Libby, which was a common pet name for Elizabeth in the 1800s.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Libbie can be found in the 1826 novel "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper, where a character named Libbie is mentioned. However, the name was likely in use before that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Libbie. One such person was Libbie Custer (1842-1935), the wife of General George Armstrong Custer, who famously survived the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 when her husband and his troops were killed.
Another well-known Libbie was Libbie Henrietta Hyman (1888-1969), an American zoologist and writer who made significant contributions to the study of invertebrate biology and published several influential books on the subject.
In the realm of literature, Libbie Bacon Custer (1841-1924) was an author and lecturer who wrote books about her experiences as the wife of a cavalry officer during the American Indian Wars.
Libbie Riley (1841-1911) was an American educator and activist who played a crucial role in establishing the Women's Relief Corps, an auxiliary organization to the Grand Army of the Republic, which supported Union veterans and their families.
Libbie Henrietta Hyman, mentioned earlier, was not only a renowned zoologist but also an advocate for women's rights and served as the president of the American Association of University Women from 1937 to 1939.
While the name Libbie has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, it continues to hold historical significance and serves as a reminder of the enduring popularity of the name Elizabeth and its various diminutive forms over the centuries.
People
Libbie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Libbie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Libbie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Libbie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,047 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Libbie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 327,368 US residents.
Is Libbie a common name?
We classify Libbie as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,506 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Libbie most popular?
The single biggest year for Libbie was 1915, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Libbie is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Libbie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Libbie in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.