Gipson
A surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Gibson, meaning “son of Gib” or “son of Gilbert.”
The #1,843 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,858 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gipson is generally understood as a variant of Gibson, a patronymic built from the medieval short form Gib or Gip, itself a pet form of Gilbert. In that sense, the name originally meant “son of Gib” or “son of Gilbert.” A few older writers also mention it among forms that may have been influenced by the personal name Gipsy/Gipsey, but that looks like a secondary guess rather than the main origin.
History
The surname is recorded in historical name lists as a spelling alongside Gibson and related forms such as Gibb and Gipp. It is most common in English-speaking areas, especially where Scottish and northern English naming patterns were influential. In modern usage it survives as a less common spelling of the broader Gibson family of surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers sometimes grouped Gipson with forms like Gibb, Gibbs, and Gibbon, all ultimately linked to the same medieval nickname family around Gilbert.
From the historical record
“Januarius. GIPP. GIPPS. GIPSON. See Gil- bert. GIPSY. ]\Iust be a surname of comjiara- tively recent date, if borrowed from the wandering tribe so called. See next ar-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom