2000
#5,052
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,373
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.36
Rare Last name
Tibbetts
Derived from a place name meaning "Tibba's or Tybba's farmstead" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,015 Americans carry the last name Tibbetts. That puts it at #5,488 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,860 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tibbetts surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tibbetts with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.0K
1 in 48,860
Census rank
#5,488
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,117 bearers of the surname Tibbetts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5488th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tibbetts, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tibbetts
The surname Tibbetts has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is a locational surname derived from various places named Tibbet or Tibbets, which stem from the Old English personal name Tibbet or Tybbet, a diminutive of the name Theobald.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1201, where a John Tibbets is mentioned. The surname is also found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it is spelled as Tybetot.
The Tibbetts name is linked to several place names in England, such as Tibberton in Gloucestershire and Tibberton in Shropshire. These place names are derived from the Old English words "tib" meaning "a little bit" and "tun" meaning "an enclosure or homestead."
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a Norman landowner named Teodbaldus is recorded as holding lands in various counties, including Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. It is possible that the Tibbetts surname may have evolved from this Norman name.
Notable individuals with the surname Tibbetts throughout history include:
1. John Tibbetts (c. 1580 – c. 1640), an English colonist who settled in what is now New Hampshire, USA, in the early 17th century.
2. Thomas Tibbetts (1777 – 1837), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.
3. George Tibbetts (1763 – 1849), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later became a prominent landowner in Ohio.
4. Sir Walter Tibbetts (1909 – 1988), a British diplomat and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Malta from 1962 to 1964.
5. John Tibbetts (1722 – 1786), an English clergyman and author who wrote several works on theology and church history.
While the surname Tibbetts has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly to the United States, Canada, and Australia, through migration and colonization.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tibbetts
Among Census respondents with the surname Tibbetts, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tibbetts bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Tibbetts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 5,468
- Two or more races4.2% · 257
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 177
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 54
- Black or African American0.4% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tibbetts
Tibbetts appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,538
+165 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Down 275 places
2020
#5,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,117
-421 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 2.05
Rank movement Down 161 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,052 | 6,373 | 2.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,327 | 6,538 | 2.22 | +165 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 275 places |
| 2020 | #5,488 | 6,117 | 2.05 | -421 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 161 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Tibbetts surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,327 | #5,488 | -3.0% |
| Count | 6,538 | 6,117 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.22 | 2.05 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tibbetts bearers went from 6,538 to 6,117 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 161 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,327 to #5,488.
FAQ
Tibbetts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tibbetts?
Name Census estimates that about 7,015 living Americans carry the surname Tibbetts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,860 residents.
How common is Tibbetts?
Tibbetts ranks #5,488 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,117 people with the surname Tibbetts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,015), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Tibbetts.
Has Tibbetts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tibbetts went from 6,538 recorded bearers to 6,117. That is a decrease of 421 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,327 to #5,488.
What does the Census say about the background of Tibbetts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tibbetts, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tibbetts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (5,468 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tibbetts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Tibbetts (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Tibbetts mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Tibba's or Tybba's farmstead" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Tibbetts (2.05 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Tibbetts?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Tibbetts is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.