Dibble
An English surname with several possible origins, most likely a short form or variant tied to a personal name rather than a place.
The #5,884 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,633 Americans shares it.
Etymology
19th-century surname dictionaries do not give a single agreed origin for Dibble. One line of explanation treats it as a short form or variant of a personal name such as Theobald, while another sees it as related to nickname forms like Tibbie, with spelling changes common in medieval records. A few writers also connect it with similar surnames such as Dipple or Dibben, but the evidence is not strong enough to settle one derivation confidently.
History
The name appears in English records in several spelling forms, and Bardsley notes it alongside other names showing loose medieval interchange of initial consonants. Later reference works continue to treat it as part of a wider cluster of similar surnames rather than as a clearly local surname. The modern surname is found in Britain and in the United States, where it has remained relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower explicitly remarks that he had encountered three Yale graduates named Dibble, showing the name’s early presence in New England.
From the historical record
“No. 2. DIBBLE. Perhaps the same as Tipple, Theobald. DIBDIN. Dihden, a parish in Hamp- shire. DICEY. Probably local— though Fer- guson thinks it may be 0. Germ., Disi or Disa, from Goth, deh, wise. DICK. See Richard.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom