Kibbee

This interesting surname with variant spellings Kibby, Kibbye, Kybbye, Kibbee, Kibbe, etc., is a dialectal variant of the locational name from any of the numerous places in Northern England called Kirby, deriving from the Olde Norse "kirkja" meaning "church" plus "byr" "settlement". The surname dates back to the mid 16th Century, (see below). Church records include Henrie, son of John and Jone Kebbey who was christened on June 6th 1624 at St. Lawrence Jewry and St. Mary Magdalene, London and John, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Kibbey who was christened on April 23rd 1656 at St. James Garlickhithe, London. Joseph, son of John and Eliza Kibbey was christened at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London on October 18th 1702. During the Middle Ages when it was increasingly common for people to migrate from their birth place to seek work further afield the custom developed that they would adopt the placename as a means of identification. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Edward Kibby marriage to Ellen Goffe, which was dated 1556, in the St. Peter's church, Cornhill, London, during the reign of Queen Mary, known as "Blood Mary", 1553 - 1558. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.