NameCensus.

UK surname

Gibson

An English surname referring to the son of Gilbert, derived from the Old English name Giselberhrt meaning "bright pledge."

In the 1881 census there were 36,370 people recorded with the Gibson surname, ranking it #86 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 51,002, ranked #92, down from #86 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Govan Combination and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Lockerbie, County Durham and Newark and Sherwood.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gibson is 51,982 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 40.2%.

1881 census count

36,370

Ranked #86

Modern count

51,002

2016, ranked #92

Peak year

2010

51,982 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gibson had 36,370 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #86 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 51,002 in 2016, ranked #92.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 44,925 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Gibson surname distribution map

The map shows where the Gibson surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Gibson surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gibson over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 24,101 #83
1861 historical 25,922 #77
1881 historical 36,370 #86
1891 historical 39,157 #84
1901 historical 44,925 #87
1911 historical 35,684 #105
1997 modern 49,011 #90
1998 modern 51,032 #90
1999 modern 51,469 #90
2000 modern 50,992 #90
2001 modern 49,778 #90
2002 modern 50,840 #91
2003 modern 49,421 #92
2004 modern 49,292 #92
2005 modern 48,719 #94
2006 modern 48,849 #95
2007 modern 49,135 #96
2008 modern 49,628 #96
2009 modern 50,875 #96
2010 modern 51,982 #96
2011 modern 51,286 #96
2012 modern 50,367 #94
2013 modern 51,207 #96
2014 modern 51,573 #94
2015 modern 51,142 #92
2016 modern 51,002 #92

Geography

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Where Gibsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Govan Combination, London parishes, Gateshead and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Lockerbie, County Durham and Newark and Sherwood. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 London parishes London 3
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Lockerbie Dumfries and Galloway
2 County Durham 043 County Durham
3 County Durham 008 County Durham
4 County Durham 010 County Durham
5 Newark and Sherwood 006 Newark and Sherwood

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gibson

These lists show first names that appear often with the Gibson surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gibson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Gibson, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Gibson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Gibson household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Gibson is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Gibson is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Gibson falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Gibson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Gibson, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Gibson

The surname Gibson originated in England, with the earliest known references dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the given name Gilbert, which was popular among the Normans and ultimately stems from the Germanic name Gisalbarht, meaning "bright pledge" or "bright as an arrow."

One of the earliest known records of the name Gibson is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1195, where a man named William Gibunson is mentioned. This spelling variation reflects the common practice of adding "son" to a father's name to create a surname during that period.

The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were census-like records compiled during the reign of King Edward I. In these rolls, the surname is recorded as Gibsone, suggesting the name's evolution over time.

As the Gibson family spread across England, various place names became associated with the surname. For example, in the 13th century, there were records of individuals named Gibson in areas like Gibsonton, Yorkshire, and Gibston, Leicestershire, which likely contributed to the surname's development.

One notable individual with the surname Gibson was Thomas Gibson, a prominent English publisher and bookseller who lived from 1531 to 1600. He was granted a royal patent by Queen Elizabeth I and played a significant role in the printing and distribution of books during the Elizabethan era.

Another influential figure was William Gibson, an English playwright and poet who lived from 1597 to 1662. He is best known for his collaboration with Francis Beaumont on several popular plays, including "The Coxcomb" and "A Wife for a Month."

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gibson was Isaac Gibson, a Quaker who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. He was born in 1633 and played a role in the establishment of the Quaker community in the American colonies.

In the 19th century, John Banister Gibson (1780-1853) was a notable American jurist and legal scholar. He served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and was highly regarded for his contributions to the development of American jurisprudence.

Another prominent individual with the surname Gibson was Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944), an American graphic artist and illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the iconic "Gibson Girl" image, which became a celebrated representation of the modern American woman in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Gibson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gibson surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Yorkshire leads with 4,651 Gibsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.32x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 4,651 1.32x
Lancashire 3,474 0.83x
Lanarkshire 2,873 2.51x
Durham 2,737 2.59x
Middlesex 2,207 0.62x
Northumberland 2,113 4.00x
Ayrshire 1,501 5.66x
Midlothian 1,144 2.41x
Staffordshire 950 0.79x
Angus 885 2.69x
Surrey 804 0.47x
Cheshire 785 1.00x
Lincolnshire 778 1.37x
Kent 776 0.64x
Cumberland 749 2.45x
Nottinghamshire 658 1.38x
Renfrewshire 579 2.11x
Derbyshire 514 0.93x
Fife 476 2.27x
Warwickshire 461 0.52x
Leicestershire 433 1.10x
Essex 426 0.61x
Aberdeenshire 407 1.24x
Wigtownshire 392 8.33x
Northamptonshire 386 1.16x
Norfolk 382 0.70x
Dumfriesshire 305 3.89x
Kirkcudbrightshire 303 5.90x
Westmorland 284 3.64x
Hampshire 243 0.33x
Stirlingshire 212 1.62x
Perthshire 193 1.21x
Gloucestershire 185 0.27x
Berwickshire 183 4.26x
Devon 171 0.23x
Suffolk 148 0.34x
Buckinghamshire 139 0.65x
Orkney 129 3.31x
West Lothian 129 2.42x
Sussex 125 0.21x
Roxburghshire 122 1.90x
Cambridgeshire 120 0.53x
Hertfordshire 109 0.45x
Dunbartonshire 103 1.08x
Somerset 102 0.18x
Berkshire 100 0.38x
Cornwall 98 0.24x
East Lothian 98 2.09x
Clackmannanshire 89 3.04x
Worcestershire 86 0.19x
Kincardineshire 80 1.85x
Oxfordshire 78 0.36x
Argyllshire 66 0.67x
Banffshire 63 0.86x
Glamorgan 62 0.10x
Denbighshire 54 0.40x
Wiltshire 50 0.16x
Dorset 43 0.18x
Caithness 41 0.84x
Peeblesshire 41 2.46x
Selkirkshire 39 1.22x
Channel Islands 33 0.31x
Inverness-shire 33 0.31x
Shropshire 33 0.11x
Ross-shire 31 0.32x
Rutland 29 1.11x
Huntingdonshire 27 0.38x
Monmouthshire 27 0.11x
Bedfordshire 22 0.12x
Carmarthenshire 22 0.15x
Buteshire 21 0.98x
Kinross-shire 21 2.34x
Royal Navy 19 0.45x
Anglesey 16 0.25x
Flintshire 16 0.17x
Isle of Man 15 0.23x
Brecknockshire 14 0.20x
Sutherland 10 0.37x
Morayshire 9 0.16x
Cardiganshire 6 0.07x
Caernarfonshire 4 0.03x
Merionethshire 3 0.05x
Pembrokeshire 2 0.02x
Herefordshire 1 0.01x
Nairnshire 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Govan in Lanarkshire leads with 806 Gibsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.84x.

Place Total Index
Govan 806 2.84x
Barony 687 2.37x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 527 2.76x
Glasgow 417 2.05x
Bishopwearmouth 326 3.60x
Dundee 299 2.44x
Islington London 256 0.74x
Gateshead 244 3.09x
Kilmarnock 233 7.38x
Birmingham 221 0.74x
Leeds 216 1.09x
Liverpool 201 0.79x
Westgate 197 6.03x
St Pancras London 187 0.66x
Westoe 181 3.03x
Holy Trinity 178 2.11x
Everton 174 1.30x
Hackney London 168 0.85x
West Derby 159 1.29x
Manchester 156 0.82x
Toxteth Park 144 1.01x
New Monkland 140 4.13x
Aston 138 0.56x
Elswick 136 3.23x
South Leith 136 2.54x
Liff Benvie 130 2.61x
Wigan 127 2.16x
Scarborough 125 3.91x
Nottingham St Mary 124 1.00x
Shoreditch London 123 0.80x
Camberwell 122 0.54x
Newcastle On Tyne St 122 4.46x
West Ham 122 0.79x
Lambeth 117 0.38x
Hulme 116 1.32x
Salford 116 0.94x
Wolstanton 116 3.19x
Sculcoates 115 2.06x
Sheffield 114 1.02x
St Marylebone London 110 0.58x
Abbey 108 2.58x
Burslem 106 3.09x
Longbenton 105 4.70x
Inveresk 103 8.01x
Aberdeen Old Machar 102 1.49x
Over Darwen 101 3.01x
Kirkdale 97 1.37x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 97 3.08x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 96 1.56x
Batley 95 2.84x
Bradford 95 1.12x
Mile End Old Town London 94 1.25x
Paisley High Church 94 4.30x
Middlesbrough 92 2.01x
Dunfermline 91 2.82x
Tynemouth 91 3.22x
Blackburn 90 0.80x
Stockton On Tees 89 1.75x
Chorlton On Medlock 88 1.32x
Hamilton 88 2.75x
Huddersfield 86 1.68x
Leicester St Margaret 86 0.90x
Newington 85 0.65x
Aspull 82 8.28x
Byker 82 3.14x
Horton In Bradford 81 1.48x
Oldham 81 0.60x
Barrow In Furness 79 1.38x
Kilwinning 79 9.22x
Poplar London 79 1.18x
Kensington London 76 0.39x
Stansfield 76 5.88x
Warrington 76 1.52x
Biddulph 74 10.96x
Berwick Upon Tweed 73 6.53x
Hammersmith London 73 0.84x
Stoke Upon Trent 73 0.58x
Falkirk 72 2.35x
New Cumnock 72 15.65x
Forfar 71 3.99x
Paddington London 71 0.54x
Brightside Bierlow 70 1.02x
Leek Lowe 70 4.40x
Muirkirk 68 10.91x
Preston 68 0.60x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Gibson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 1,828
Elizabeth 1,086
Sarah 960
Jane 679
Ann 541
Margaret 455
Annie 390
Hannah 363
Alice 340
Emma 300
Eliza 298
Ellen 296
Emily 230
Isabella 215
Martha 207
Catherine 150
Ada 137
Harriet 134
Charlotte 127
Edith 125
Florence 122
Frances 121
Louisa 121
Agnes 111
Maria 109
Anne 103
Caroline 99
Clara 97
Fanny 94
Eleanor 89
Kate 78
Jessie 74
Esther 70
Lucy 67
Susan 64
Rebecca 63
Rose 61
Amelia 56
Matilda 54
Harriett 52
Susannah 52
Julia 50
Elizth. 49
Betsy 45
Dorothy 43
Ethel 43
Rachel 42
Amy 38
Gertrude 35
Grace 35

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Gibson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 1,834
William 1,594
Thomas 955
George 923
James 881
Joseph 538
Robert 526
Charles 433
Henry 400
Edward 261
Arthur 231
Richard 204
Samuel 194
Alfred 191
Walter 150
Frederick 145
Harry 124
Albert 118
David 107
Wm. 80
Ernest 78
Herbert 76
Frank 74
Alexander 73
Francis 72
Fred 64
Thos. 62
Matthew 58
Andrew 56
Tom 54
Edwin 46
Benjamin 44
Geo. 44
Peter 43
Isaac 42
Stephen 38
Robt. 34
Christopher 33
Leonard 33
Ralph 33
Abraham 31
Michael 30
Daniel 29
Jacob 25
Anthony 24
Jonathan 24
Joshua 22
Jas. 21
Percy 21
Mathew 20

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Gibson households.

FAQ

Gibson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gibson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 36,370 people were recorded with the Gibson surname. That placed it at #86 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gibson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 51,002 in 2016. That gives Gibson a modern rank of #92.

What does the Gibson surname mean?

An English surname referring to the son of Gilbert, derived from the Old English name Giselberhrt meaning "bright pledge."

What does the Gibson map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Gibson bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.