Gibbon
GIB-ən
A name associated with brightness and pledge, though it is also strongly known as a surname form from Gilbert.
Meaning
In the Yonge excerpt, Gibbon is glossed as an English Germanic name meaning "bright pledge." The Bardsley excerpt also treats Gibbon as a surname form derived from Gilbert, which points to the familiar Gilbert/Gilbert-family source rather than a separate long-standing given name tradition.
Origin
EnglishGermanicmasculine
Fun fact
The surname evidence in Bardsley links Gibbon with other pet or altered forms like Gibbin and Gilpin.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature.