Sybil Branson
Biographical information
Born	August or September 1920
Residence	Downton Abbey, Downton, Yorkshire
Title(s)	Sybbie (by her father, aunt and maternal grandmother) Miss Sybil (by Edna Braithwaite) Darling (by her father) Bairn (by Mrs. Hughes)
Physical information
Gender	Female
Height	Small.
Hair colour	Brown
Eye colour	Brown
Family information
Family	Tom Branson (father) Lady Sybil Branson nee Crawley (mother) † Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (maternal grandmother) Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (maternal grandfather) Mrs. Branson (paternal grandmother) Mr. Branson (paternal grandfather) Kieran Branson (paternal uncle/godfather) Tom Branson's cousin (paternal first cousin-once-removed) † Martha Levinson (maternal great-grandmother) Isidore Levinson (maternal great-grandfather) † Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (maternal great-grandmother) 4th Earl of Grantham (maternal great-grandfather) † Lady Mary Crawley nee Crawley (maternal aunt/godmother) Lady Edith Crawley (maternal aunt) Matthew Crawley (maternal uncle-by-marriage) † Lady Rosamund Painswick (maternal great aunt) Marmaduke Painswick (maternal great uncle-by-marriage) † Harold Levinson (maternal great uncle) George Crawley (first cousin)
Affiliation
Loyalty	Tom Branson
Behind the scenes

Sybil "Sybbie" Branson (b. between 18 August and 30 September 1920^[1]) is the only child and daughter of Tom and the late Lady Sybil Branson. She is the first grandchild and first granddaughter of Robert and Cora. She is the great-granddaugher of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. She is the niece of Lady Mary, Lady Edith, and the late Matthew Crawley, cousin of George Crawley, and she is also related to the Branson family.

Sybil was named by her father after her mother, who died of eclampsia shortly after her birth. Her father felt it was right, even if it would be painful, stating he wanted to remember her mother whenever he looked at her, and later stating she was all he had left of her mother.

She was born small for her age, which is a common complication in children born of mothers with preeclampsia.^[2] Following a dispute between Tom and Robert over which church she would be baptized into, she was baptized Catholic (per her father's wishes) in Ripon by Father Dominic. Tom named her paternal uncle Kieran and maternal aunt Mary her godparents.

Tom had decided to move to Liverpool to work in the garage owned by Kieran. They would live in an apartment above the garage. Kieran said there was a bit of a park nearby and Sybbie would be fine. It is this dinner which prompts the Dowager Countess to suggest that Tom to be named the new estate manager (Downton's agent Jarvis had resigned earlier that same day). She insists to Robert that he cannot want his granddaughter to grow up in a garage with Kieran, whom she calls "that drunken gorilla."

When her father replaced Jarvis, she was to have moved with him and her nanny into the Agent's House. Cora expressed concern about this, thinking it would be lonely for her, because she felt "children are happier in families." But her father felt it was best for both of them. However, after seeing her surrounded by her maternal family at the cricket match, Tom decided he and she would live at Downton until she was older.

In September 1921 she was seen watching and pointing while the staff packed up bags for the family's trip to Duneagle Castle, and was later comforted by Carson while crying as the rest of the staff had gone to the Thirsk fair. He then takes her back to bed, after Mrs. Hughes admires him for comforting her. He and Mrs. Hughes talk of Sybil's late mother. Carson remarks he was thinking of her when she was her daughter's present age, while Mrs. Hughes remarks that they must care for her "bairn".

Contents 1 Notes 2 Trivia 3 Etymology 4 Appearances 5 References 6 Comments

NotesEdit

Sybil was born in August or September 1920; we can infer this from Robert's words of "Tennessee is going to ratify the 19th Amendment." in Episode 3.05. The ratification of the ammendment happened on August 18th, 1920. This means that Episode 3.05 is set before August 18th when the Ammendment was ratified. This also means, as the 2012 Christmas Special is set in September 1921, that Sybil must have been born after the 18th of August - as that is after the events of 3.05 and the ratification of the ammendment - and on or before the 30th of September 1920 - which is a year before the events of the 2012 Christmas Special. As well as this, September is the end of the cricket season - which spans from May to September in the UK - and Cricket is played in Episode 3.08, thus it cannot be after 30th September, as that was the end of the cricket season in 1920.

Trivia Edit

• As seen by this picture Radio Times incorrectly reported that the child was a boy.

Etymology Edit

Sybil and Sibyl are variations of given names deriving from the Greek term "sibyls", the oracular seeresses of the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean. Sybil as a girl's name is pronounced SIH-bul. It is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Sybil is "prophetess, oracle. Sybil has 13 variant forms: Sybill, Sibyl, Sibylla, Sybel, Sybella, Sybelle, Sybilla, Sybille, Sibell, Sibilla, Cybele, Cybil, and Cybill. ^[3]

AppearancesEdit

Appearances and Mentions
Series 1	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5	Episode 6	Episode 7	—	—
Series 2	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5	Episode 6	Episode 7	Episode 8	Christmas Special Mentioned
Series 3	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5 Appears	Episode 6 Appears	Episode 7 Appears	Episode 8 Appears	Christmas Special Appears

References Edit

1. ↑ Sybil was born in August or September 1920; we can infer this from Robert's words of "Tennessee is going to ratify the 19th Amendment." in Episode 3.04. The ratification of the ammendment happened on August 18th, 1920. This means that Episode 3.04 is set before August 18th when the Ammendment was ratified. This also means, as the 2012 Christmas Special is set in September 1921, that Sybil must have been born after the 18th of August - as that is after 3.04 and the ratification of the ammendment - and on or before the 30th of September 1920 - which is a year before the events of the 2012 Christmas Special. As well as this, September is the end of the cricket season - which spans from May to September in the UK - and Cricket is played in Episode 3.08, thus it cannot be after 30th September, as that was the end of the cricket season in 1920.
2. ↑ U.S. National Library of Medicine Preeclampsia
3. ↑ Sybil name meaning from thinkbabtnames.com