The eldest son of Robert Gibbon, a London draper and fourth son of Robert Gibbon of Rolvenden, Kent, and his wife Mary, daughter of Lionel Edgar of Framsden, Suffolk, he was born on 3 November 1629; he was brother to Matthew Gibbon, Edward Gibbon's great-grandfather. On 11 December 1639 he was admitted a pupil of Merchant Taylors' School, then went to Jesus College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1645, but not taking a degree.
