Find out how popular the last name Tibbs is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tibbs.

Tibbs, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tibbs surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tibbs in America

Tibbs is the 4835th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tibbs surname appeared 7,294 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Tibbs.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tibbs to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tibbs

The surname Tibbs is of English origin, derived from the medieval given name Theobald, which itself comes from the Germanic elements "theud" meaning "people" and "bald" meaning "bold" or "brave." The name first emerged in the 12th century in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Tibbs surname can be found in the Feet of Fines for Norfolk, dated 1195, which mentions a Robert Tybbs. The name also appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, listing a John Tebbe in Oxfordshire. Over time, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Tibb, Tybbe, Tybbes, and Tibbes, before settling on the modern form of Tibbs.

The Tibbs surname has its roots in several place names across England, including Tibshelf in Derbyshire, which was once known as Tibdeshelf, derived from the Old English words "tibb" meaning "a strip of ground" and "scelfe" meaning "ledge" or "shelf." Additionally, the name may have originated from the lost village of Tibbs, which was located near the town of Newmarket in Suffolk.

Historically, the Tibbs surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard Tibbs, a member of the English Parliament who represented the borough of Wallingford in Berkshire in 1335. Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Tibbs, a 16th-century merchant and alderman of the City of London, who served as Lord Mayor in 1568.

In the literary realm, the name Tibbs is perhaps most famously associated with the character of Beau Tibbs, a character in Oliver Goldsmith's 1773 novel "The Vicar of Wakefield." Beau Tibbs was a charming but impoverished man who made up for his lack of wealth with his wit and charm.

Other notable individuals bearing the surname Tibbs include:

1. Thomas Tibbs (1692-1760), an English engraver and portrait painter.
2. Henry Tibbs (1770-1847), an English architect and surveyor, known for his work on the Tivoli Gardens in London.
3. Samuel Tibbs (1826-1891), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.
4. Mary Tibbs (1873-1952), an English suffragette and activist for women's rights.
5. Sammy Tibbs (1920-2002), an American jazz drummer and bandleader, active in the swing and bebop eras.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tibbs

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tibbs.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tibbs was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tibbs has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tibbs was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tibbs, please contact us.

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