Fitzgibbon, FitzGibbon, Fitz-Gibbon and Fitzgibbons are Irish surnames of

Hiberno-Norman Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans (; ) is a modern term for the descendants of Norman settlers who arrived during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. Most came from England and Wales. They are distinguished from the native ...

origin. The surname originates with Gilbert (Gibbon) FitzJohn, who was an illegitimate son of John FitzThomas, 1st Baron Desmond (died 1261); the line of Anglo-Norman aristocracy in Ireland descended from Gilbert became known as Fitzgibbon. Fitzgibbon means "son of Gibbon", derived from

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...

''fiz''/''fitz'' (meaning "son") and ''Gibbon'' (a Norman French affectionate form of the name Gilbert). The Gaelicised form of Fitzgibbon is ''Mac Giobúin''.

Overview

The Fitzgibbon families of the present day are to be found concentrated in the parts of the Ireland in which they originated. The most numerous are those of

Co. Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at t ...

: the MacGibbon Burke, being a branch of the Hiberno-Irish sept of

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

in Co. Mayo. Ballymacgibbon in Co. Mayo takes its name from them. They were Gaelicised more completely than other Norman invaders, intermarrying with native Irish and becoming

more Irish than the Irish themselves "More Irish than the Irish themselves" (; ) is a phrase used in Irish historiography to describe a phenomenon of cultural assimilation in late medieval Norman Ireland. History The descendants of Anglo-Norman lords who had settled in Ireland i ...

. The others are equally associated with a particular county, in this case Co. Limerick. The head of this family in Co. Limerick was known as the

White Knight A white knight is a mythological figure and literary stock character. They are portrayed alongside a black knight as diametric opposites. A white knight usually represents a heroic warrior fighting against evil, with the role in medieval literatu ...

, being one of the three hereditary knights in Desmond (unique among British and Irish titles), the other two being the

Green Knight The Green Knight (, , ) is a heroic character of the Matter of Britain, originating in the 14th-century poem '' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' and the related medieval work '' The Greene Knight''. His true name is revealed to be Bertilak de ...

and the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...

, who are FitzGeralds. Their territory prior to the upheaval of the 17th century was the south-eastern corner of Co. Limerick near Co. Cork. The best known of the Fitzgibbons was John 'Black Jack' Fitzgibbon (1749–1802), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, whose pro-English and anti-Catholic activity at the time of the Acts of Union made him hated in his own day and his memory reviled since.

Notable people

Notable people with the name include: *

Abraham Fitzgibbon Abraham 'Abram' Fitzgibbon (23 January 1823 – 4 April 1887) was an Irish-born railroad engineer and a pioneer for narrow-gauge railways. Career In the early 1860s, Fitzgibbon was working at Dun Mountain Railway in Nelson, New Zealand, a hors ...

(1823–1887), Irish-born railroad engineer *

Agnes Dunbar Moodie Fitzgibbon Agnes Dunbar Fitzgibbon Chamberlin ( Moodie; 1833–1913) was a Canadian artist living in Ontario. Biography She was born Agnes Dunbar Moodie on a farm near Cobourg, Ontario, Cobourg, Upper Canada. Her parents were John Wedderburn Dunbar Moodie, ...

(1833–1913), Canadian artist * Allan Fitzgibbon (born before 1968), Australian rugby league footballer * Andrew Fitzgibbon (1845–1883), Irish soldier who may have been the youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross * Andrew Fitzgibbon (Engineer) (born 1968), Irish computer vision researcher *

Bernice Fitz-Gibbon Bernice Bowles "Fitz" Fitz-Gibbon (September 6, 1894 – February 22, 1982) was an American advertising executive and a pioneer in retail advertising, working at Marshall Field's, Macy's, Gimbels and Wanamaker's. She was inducted into the Adv ...

(1894–1982), American advertising executive * Carol Fitz-Gibbon (1938–2017), British educational researcher and analyst * Coleen Fitzgibbon (born 1950), American experimental film artist *

Constantine Fitzgibbon Major Robert Louis Constantine Lee-Dillon FitzGibbonBurke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 2003, vol. 1, p. 1150 RSL (8 June 1919 – 25 March 1983) was an American-born Irish-British historian, translator and novelist.John Wakeman, World Aut ...

(1919–1983), American-born historian, translator and novelist *

Craig Fitzgibbon Craig Fitzgibbon (born 16 June 1977) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League, NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990 ...

(born 1977), Australian rugby league footballer *

Daniel Fitzgibbon Daniel Fitzgibbon, (born 15 June 1976) is an Australian Paralympic sailor, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. He won gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, 2012 London and 2016 Summer Paralympics, 2016 Rio P ...

, (born 1976), Australian Paralympic sailor who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics * Darragh Fitzgibbon (born 1997), Irish hurler * Desmond Fitzgibbon (1890 – after 1945), British flying ace in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I * Edmund FitzGibbon (–1608), Irish nobleman *

Edmund Fitzgibbon (bishop) Edmund (Ned) Joseph Fitzgibbon (1 March 1925 – 17 April 2010) was an Irish Roman Catholic missionary and bishop who served in Nigeria for over five decades. A member of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society (Kiltegan Fathers). His ...

(1925–2010), Irish-born Roman Catholic bishop in Nigeria *

Edmond Gerald FitzGibbon Edmund Gerald FitzGibbon (1 November 1825 – 12 December 1905) was a barrister and Town clerk of Melbourne.Bernard Barrett,FitzGibbon, Edmund Gerald (1825 - 1905), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 4, MUP, 1972, pp 181-182. FitzGibb ...

(1825–1905), Irish-born Australian barrister and town clerk * Edward Fitzgibbon (1803–1857), Irish writer who used the pseudonym ''Ephemera'' *

Edward E. Fitzgibbon Edward Edwin Fitzgibbon (June 6, 1844 – June 30, 1909) was a farmer, teacher, and politician. Born in Staten Island, New York, Fitzgibbon moved to Wisconsin and settled in the town of Westport, Dane County, Wisconsin. Fitzgibbon was a teac ...

(1847–1909), American farmer, teacher, and politician * Eric Fitzgibbon (1936–2015), Australian politician * Fred Fitzgibbon (1917–1999), Australian rules footballer * Gerald Fitzgibbon (disambiguation), multiple people * Hanorah Philomena FitzGibbon (1889–1979), New Zealand civilian and military nurse and nursing administrator *

Herb Fitzgibbon Herbert Fitzgibbon (born July 14, 1942) is a former tennis player who was nationally ranked in the 1960s and 1970s. Fitzgibbon played four years of high school tennis for Garden City High School and never lost a match. He played collegiate ten ...

(born 1942), U.S. tennis player *

Ian Fitzgibbon Ian Fitzgibbon (born 1962) is an Irish film and television director, screenwriter and occasionally actor. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Spin the Bottle'', '' A Film with Me in It'' and the Comedy Central UK show Threesome, and for th ...

(born 1962), Irish film and television actor/director *

James FitzGibbon James FitzGibbon (16 November 1780 – 10 December 1863) was a public servant, prominent freemason of the masonic lodge from 1822 to 1826 (holding the highest position in Upper Canada of deputy provincial grand master), member of the Family ...

(1780–1863), British soldier and hero of the War of 1812 *

Joe Fitzgibbon Joseph Clark Fitzgibbon (born August 27, 1986) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 34th district since 2010. In 2013, Fitzgibbon called Arizona a “des ...

(active from 2012), U.S. politician in the state of Washington *

Joel Fitzgibbon Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon (born 16 January 1962) is a retired Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1996 to 2022, represen ...

(born 1962), Australian politician * John Fitzgibbon (disambiguation), multiple people *

John Fitzgibbons John Fitzgibbons (July 10, 1868 in Lee, New York, Glenmore, Oneida County, New York – August 4, 1941 in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, Erie County, New York) was an American politician from New York (state), New York. He served one term in the Uni ...

(1868–1941), American politician * John Bowler Fitzgibbons (born before 1995), American entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist * Joseph Fitzgibbon (1881–1960), Newfoundland politician * Lachlan Fitzgibbon (born 1994), Australian rugby league footballer * Maggie Fitzgibbon (1929–2020), Australian actress and singer * Sister Mary Irene FitzGibbon (1823–1896), English-born nun who founded the New York Foundling Hospital * Nick FitzGibbon (born 1987), Canadian football player * Nora FitzGibbon (1889–1979), New Zealand nurse * Patricia Fitzgibbon, Irish camogie player * Paul Fitzgibbon (1903–1975), American football player *

Peter Fitzgibbon Peter Fitzgibbon is an Irish international rugby union referee. He has been on the IRB Elite panel (the highest level in the world) since 2009. He works full-time for the Irish Rugby Football Union as referee development officer in the Leisur ...

(born 1975), Irish international rugby union referee *

Pierre Fitzgibbon Pierre Fitzgibbon is a Canadians, Canadian politician who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 Quebec general election, 2018 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of Terrebonne (provincial electoral di ...

, Canadian politician, member of the National Assembly of Quebec (from 2018) * Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr. (1920–1956), U.S. murder victim in Vietnam * Robbie Fitzgibbon (1996–2024), English middle-distance runner * Rosanne Fitzgibbon (1947–2012), Australian literary editor *

Sally Fitzgibbons Sally Fitzgibbons (born 19 December 1990) is an Australian professional surfer on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour (2009–2013). In June 2019, she was ranked No. 1 in the world for women's surfing after winning the Rio Pro. ...

(born 1990), Australian professional surfer *

Sandie Fitzgibbon Sandie Fitzgibbon (born 1964 in Cork) is a former camogie player selected on the camogie team of the century in 2004, and winner of six All Ireland medals in 1982, 1983, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1997. She played for Glen Rovers Club with whom s ...

(born before 1982), Irish camogie player * Shaun Fitzgibbon (born 1986), New Zealand cricketer * Smacka Fitzgibbon (1930–1979), Australian entertainer *

Theodora FitzGibbon Theodora FitzGibbon (née Rosling; later Morrison; 21 October 1916 – 25 March 1991) was an Irish cookery writer, model and actress. Early life FitzGibbon was born Joan Eileen Rosling on 21 October 1916 in London to Adam Rosling and Alice Win ...

(1916–1991), Irish cookery writer, model and actress * Thomas Fitzgibbon Moore (active 1800s – after 1837}, Newfoundland constable and politician * William Fitzgibbon (active 1890s – 1900s), Irish hurler

References

{{surname Surnames of Irish origin

Overview

Notable people

See also

References