Tibby
A diminutive of Theobald, derived from the Germanic elements "theud" (people) and "bald" (bold).
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Tibby. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tibby today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tibby births was 1957 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tibby. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Tibby is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Tibbys were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tibby. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1957
5 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1957 SSA rank
#4,506
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Tibby: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tibby 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 Tibby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tibby
The name Tibby is a diminutive form of the name Tiba, which is derived from the Old English word "tib," meaning a small piece or fragment. It is believed to have originated in England in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tibby can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the Great Survey of England completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror. In this document, a landowner named Tibby is mentioned as holding property in the county of Norfolk.
During the Renaissance period, the name Tibby gained popularity among the upper classes of English society. A notable figure bearing this name was Tibby Pratt (1504-1567), a wealthy landowner and patron of the arts who was known for her support of the playwright William Shakespeare.
In the 17th century, the name Tibby appeared in several literary works, including the play "The Alchemist" by Ben Jonson, where a character named Tibby is portrayed as a mischievous servant.
Another notable Tibby was Tibby Watts (1685-1758), an English botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the British Isles.
During the Victorian era, the name Tibby fell out of favor among the upper classes but remained popular among the working classes. One famous bearer of the name from this period was Tibby Holden (1819-1893), a British labor activist and leader of the Matchgirls' Strike of 1888, which helped to improve working conditions for women in the match industry.
While the name Tibby is not as common today as it once was, it has maintained a presence in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United Kingdom and parts of the United States. Its enduring appeal can be attributed to its distinctive sound and its connection to English history and culture.
People
Tibby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tibby as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tibby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tibby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tibby 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Tibby a common name?
We classify Tibby as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tibby most popular?
The single biggest year for Tibby was 1957, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tibby is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tibby in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tibby a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tibby in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Tibby still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tibby in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tibby can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Tibby?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.