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 WestMidlands 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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