Kibbe Family History
Kibbe Surname Meaning
According to Reaney, this is a nickname from an unattested Old English word cybbe meaning ‘clumsy’ or ‘thickset’. Reaney's speculation is apparently based on taking the Middle English word kibble ‘cudgel’ as a diminutive of an unattested Old English word. Corresponding personal names have been postulated for the placenames Kibworth (‘enclosure of a man called Cybba’) and Kibblesworth (‘enclosure of a man called Cybbel’); so in theory the surname could be a reflex of these Old English personal names.
North German: nickname for a cantankerous person from Middle Low German and Middle High German kiven ‘to quarrel’.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
