Hibbert
A surname that usually comes from the old personal name Hubert, though some families may have a different medieval origin.
The #8,220 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,479 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most authorities treat Hibbert as a patronymic surname formed from the personal name Hubert, with the initial Hib- reflecting a medieval nick form or local pronunciation. Hubert itself goes back to a Germanic name built from elements meaning roughly 'mind' or 'heart' and 'bright' or 'famous.' Some older writers also suggested a separate line from the rare medieval name Hibbard/Hibbot-like forms, but the Hubert explanation is the standard one.
History
In English records, Hibbert appears especially in the north-west, and one Cheshire family tradition claimed descent from a Norman follower of Richard I. The name also produced several related spellings and short forms, including Hibbard, Hibberd, Hibbins, Hibbs, and Hibbitt. Like many surname groups built on a pet form, it became fixed in hereditary use during the Middle Ages and later spread more widely in Britain and beyond.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century Cheshire tradition linked some Hibberts to a Crusader named Paganus Ubbo-t, though later surname scholars treated the name more cautiously as a form of Hubert.
From the historical record
“HIBBARD. HIBBERD. See Hlbbert. HIBBERT. The Illbberts of Marple, Birtles, &c., co. Chester, claim descent from Paganus Uiibo-t, who acconq^anied Richard Ca3ur-de-Lion in the Crusade of 1190. See Ormcrod's Cheshire. An A-Sax. bishop of Liclificld was called Hygbert. HJG 157 IIIBBITT. A corruption of Ilibbert, fi'om…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom