Variations

I often get asked whether Bebb and other similar names are variations on a common name. I've been wondering for some time, too, but how to find out? Well, this is an attempt to get an idea.

This page is based on the 1881 census index. I extracted the Bebb/Bubb/Bibb and Babb names, and plotted the total number by county. With the exception of Babb I included the ----s form with the basic form, since the distributions looked about the same.

I didn't include Scotland, since there are so few around that way. It did make the mapping easier, anyway. I've used a colour scheme to give an idea, but it isn't to be taken too seriously. And I had to take a few liberties with London, just to get the figures in.

So what's the outcome? Well, you need to make up your own mind, but there would seem to be a case for a connection.

Bebb(s)

Bebb seems a pretty good one to start with. The overall picture shows a cluster around the West Midlands into Wales, with a very clear centre in Montgomeryshire and to a much lesser extent Shropshire. Not many in the mining valleys at this point.

Bebb(s) 1881 246 Mntg 91 Shropshire 50 Lanc 41 Staf 36 Glam 20 Here 15 Lond 13 Brec 12 Worc 11 Denb 11 Monm 11 York 7 Card 5 Flin 5 Pemb 4 Glou 4 Kent 4 Meri 2 Ches 2 Hamp 2 Warw

Bibb(s)

Moving on to Bibb(s), the emphasis remains around the Midlands but further west this time. Almost totally absent from Wales...

Bibb(s) 1881 90 Warw 80 Staf 56 Worc 50 Lond 19 York 9 Here 6 Suss 5 Devo 5 Dunb 5 Glam 4 Derb 3 Corn 3 Durh 3 Glou 3 Lana 3 Nham 2 Ches 2 Esse 2 Kent 2 Lanc 1 Camb

Bubb(s)

The Bubbs are relatively numerous, with a marked concentration around Gloucestershire. The emphasis is still around the Midlands, but more bias to the south and a few more in the east, with a generally wider scope.

Bubb(s) 1881 207 Glou 87 Warw 85 Worc 81 Lond 75 Kent 48 Here 43 Hamp 29 Wilt 18 Buck 15 Card 13 Lanc 12 Som 10 Devo 8 Oxfo 7 Derb 6 Surr 5 Esse 5 Suss 4 Ches 4 Hunt 4 Montgomeryshire 4 Norf 4 Shro 3 Berk 3 Monm 3 York 2 Aber 2 Durh 2 Linc 2 Staf

Babb

The Babbs pretty much occupy the northern section of the West Midlands, but the distribution is very different with a strong West Country content. West Country folk were well represented in the South Wales coalfields, which might explain the spread along the southern Welsh counties.

If we assume that B[e,i,u,a]bb is a mid-British name, with a variation for each point of the compass, we have a slight problem with the Devon/Cornwall concentration. Babb does seem to be a West Country name in its own right (Babbacombe comes to mind, rightly or wrongly), and they are nearly balanced by a similar grouping around the eastern English counties.

Babb 1881 159 Devon 111 Somerset 109 Staf 93 Lond 76 Corn 43 Esse 39 Lanc 36 Glou 27 Buck 19 Derb 17 Kent 13 Glam 12 Ches 8 Hamp 7 Dors 6 Monm 5 Linc 4 Durh 4 Nott 3 Dumf 3 Flin 2 Navy

Babbs

I wasn't sure whether to separate out the Babbs from the, um, Babbs. If you ignore Devon and Cornwall you find the same concentrations aroung the northern midland area and south-east England.
The total absence in the West Country is striking. It is tempting to suggest that the ----s version of the name is just a local variation, but this result tends to contradict that view.

Babbs 1881 76 Surrey 44 Staffordshire 43 Essex 42 London 14 Derbyshire 9 Lanc 7 York 5 Cheshire 4 Northumberlnd 2 Kent 2 Warwickshire

Conclusion

It did cross my mind to add all the above results together and see what emerged. Perhaps one day I will, when I get round to it.
There is little doubt that the similar names have a similar distribution. Do they have a common root? It's much easier to think they do than to think they don't. (And it does rather seem that Bubb is in the lead!)

We'll never know for sure, but I don't think the possibility can be ignored.

Bebington

I did have a look at Bebington, since some consider Bebb and Bebington to have a common root. Just about all the Bebingtons were in Cheshire, which contains the town of that name. Maybe their is a connection, but I would suspect that Bebb came first.

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