Fabian
A surname from the Roman personal name Fabianus, originally meaning “bean” or “bean-grower.”
The #2,738 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,459 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Fabian comes from the Latin family name Fabianus, which was formed from Fabius, an old Roman clan name. Most writers connect Fabius with Latin faba, meaning “bean,” so the name was understood in antiquity as something like “bean-related” or “bean grower.” In surname use, it is best understood as a name taken from a personal name rather than a literal occupational label.
History
The name entered later European naming traditions through the Christian personal name Fabian, borne by early saints and therefore familiar in medieval and post-medieval records. The excerpts show it in English records by the Reformation period, and it also appears in continental surname forms such as German Fabiani and variant spellings like Fabyan. Because it could be inherited from a given name, the surname may sometimes overlap with the older personal name rather than one fixed family origin.
Origin
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Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root behind Fabian is traditionally linked to the humble bean, one of the staples of the ancient Roman diet.
From the historical record
“FABER. (Latin.) A workman, a smith. FABIAN. Derived from the Latin Fabiiis, Faba, a bean — the bean-man, so called from his success hi cultivating beans. FACET. French, Facette, a little face. Facete, from the Latin Fac&ius, gay, cheerful FADEN. (Gaelic.) Feadan, a fife, flute, chanter of a bagpipe, a musical…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names