Fitzgibbon Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Fitzgibbon Family History

Fitzgibbon Family History

The Fitzgibbon ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Fitzgibbon include Gibbons and Fitzgibbons. In considering this surname in Ireland, it must first be mentioned that this is a very common indigenous name in England and in the course of the several plantations of English settlers in this country from 1600 onwards the name has become widespread. The native families of the present day are to be found concentrated in the very parts of the country in which they originated. The most numerous are those of County Mayo, the ancestors of these were first known as MacGibbon Burke, they being a branch of the great Norman Irish sept of Burke in County Mayo. The sept name that was assumed by this originally Norman family was Mac Giobuin. A well known bearer of the family name was John Fitzgibbon, 1749-1802, who was the Lord Chancellor of Ireland.The Fitzgibbon family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Fitzgibbon descendants.