This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Kibble,' i.e. Cuboid. A strong confirmation of the view that Kibbel was an old personal name is the existence of such local names as Kibblethwaite, Kibbleworth, Kibblestone, Cobbledick, which see. The absence of prefixes in the instances below is additional evidence. I doubt not it is the Domesday Cuboid, and therefore a mere variant of Cobbold, which see.

Michael Kibbel, Huntingdonshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

William Kibbel, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Thomas Kibel, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Reginald Kibel, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Stephen Cubbel, Oxfordshire. ibid.

1523. George Kebyll and Katharine Terell: Marriage Lic. (London).

1686. Baptised — John, s. John Keeble: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1607. Thomas Keble, Suffolk, and Mary Tirrell: Marriage Lic. (Westminster).

The variants of this surname have simply run riot in our registers, especially in modern times. I append a few from one record:

1804. Married — Thomas Keable and Millicent Shepherd.- St. George, Hanover.

1806. Married — John Kibble and Ann Mary Lockley: St. George, Hanover Square.

Henry Strong and Elizabeth Kebble: ibid.

1807. — Richard Keeble and Mary Whiting: ibid.

1809. — John Kebbell and Sarah Parsons: ibid.

V. Kibble.

From the 15th to the 17th century, Keeble, in the forms often of Keble, Kebill, and Kebyll, was a common name amongst the gentry and tradesmen of Stowmarket (H.). Keeble is still a Stowmarket name. William Keeble, a native of Newton, was rector of Ringshall in 1644 (P.). In the 13th century, Kibel, Kibbel, and Kebbel were names found in the adjacent counties of Cambridge and Hunts, as well as in those of Lincoln and Oxford (H. R.). There are Kibbles now in Bucks and Warwickshire.