Origin of surname Gibala

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The surname Gibala is an original Moravian surname, which was created from the original Kejbala or Kejbalik. These original surnames were changed into more forms: Gybalik, Geybalik, Gebalik, Geybala, Kybalik, and Kejbalik. The original meaning of this surname was derived from verb kyvat or hybat. (Kyvat = to wave, hybat = to move.) This surname probably was connected with a waved way of walking. Surnames from this part of Moravia were mostly created as verbs in past tense. There are others original surnames from this area are such as Hradil, Kopal, Zlamal, Dostal, Zapletal or Navratil. The Czech verb kyvat in past tense is kyval; hybat in past tense is hybal.
Surname Gibala is from the same origin as surname Kyvala.

The oldest written documents, where we can read surname Kejbala or Kejbalik, are the books: Registra zadusni kostela pavlovskeho (Parish register for church Pavlovice) from years 1644 - 1677, Registra Pavlovic a Prusinek (Landowner register villages Pavlovice and Prusinky) from year 1653 and registers of births and deaths village Pavlovice. Pavlovice's records were written as part of Drevohostice church registers for years 1657 - 1662. Registers of births and deaths were written separately since year 1663.

Except for these documents there are archives in Drevohostice that are very useful source of information. For example: Urbar of Drevohostice's domain - year 1655, list of serfdom's peoples Drevohostice's domain - year 1708 or gruntovni (owners) books for village Pavlovice for years between 1771- 1880.

In the period of years 1650 - 1760 from the original form of surname Kejbalik, Kejbala across Gibalik, Geybalik or Geibalik (1738), Geybala, Geybal (1729), Gebala a Gybala was created today as a form of surname called Gibala. This form of Gibala was probably used in speech before the year 1760. There were two versions of the written forms of the surname, Kejbala and Kejbalik in Pavlovice around the year 1650. Correct relation between these two forms surname is very difficult to prove. They could be father (Jan Kejbala) and son (Martin Kejbalik), but they could not be relatives with similar surnames. Today's form of the surname Gibala, we can read for the first time in the registry of births for the village Pavlovice in the year 1761. Written and speech forms of the surname Gibala for members of our family were the same after the year 1768.

This date in time corresponds to my knowledge about the occurrences of the surname Gibala on non-Pavlovice areas. According to information by Dr. Zilak from the archives in Banska Bystrica (city on central Slovakia), who is studying history of the Malohont area, the surname Gibala, has appeared on these areas: Breznicka, Poltar, Kokava, around the year 1770 and the Gibala family came here from Czech as a catholic on the domain of Count Eszterhazy.

The oldest document about the occurrence of the surname Gibala in Hungary I have received was from the village of Mad in Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen from the year 1793. I have no knowledge about the Gibala family in Hungary yet, because I haven't studied the occurrences of Gibala in Hungary yet.

In Poland, I have found a two-origin area of occurrences of the surname Gibala (Rzeszow area, Czaslaw area). Both of these places are in the part of Poland that was called Galicia, which was under the Austria Empire after the first division of Poland in year 1772. I think that the Gibalas went to Poland after the Napoleon Wars in about the year 1815. I haven't documented an occurrence of surname Gibala in Poland before year 1825 yet. I have tracked some Gibalas, who went from the Pavlovice area in about the year 1815. According to my knowledge today, it is very probable that surname Gibala was created in Pavlovice and that all of Gibalas from around the world came from Pavlovice.

One of the older forms, the surname Gibalik, was in Pavlovice registers of births and deaths even after year 1770. The surname of the same person was written in more than one form (Gibalik, Gibala, Gebala). I have found surname Gibalik only in Pavlovice ( latest in census records from year 1910). It may be that,after moving away from Pavlovice members of Gibalik family used surname Gibala or Gebala.

In the Central register of the inhabitants of Czech republic, I found two men with surname Gebala. I haven't studied this surname yet. I know only, that both of Gebala from the Czech Republic came from southern Poland, around the Oswietim area. This place is very close to the original occurrence place of Gibala in Poland. I may be that surname Gebala was derived from surname Gibala, about the year 1850. There is a very probablility, because Pavlovice's dialect spelling of the surname Gibala is Ge'bala.