Show ContentsTaber History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Taber name was originally an Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was known as the taborer, the player on the small drum. Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. These surnames were frequently derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products, in this case the tabor. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames.

Early Origins of the Taber family

The surname Taber was first found in Essex where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Taber family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Taber research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1642, 1681, 1761 and 1788 are included under the topic Early Taber History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Taber Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Taber has undergone many spelling variations, including Taber, Tabert, Tabor and others.

Early Notables of the Taber family

Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Taber Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Taber Ranking

In the United States, the name Taber is the 3,924th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1


United States Taber migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Taber were among those contributors:

Taber Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Phillip Taber, who settled in Plymouth Massachusetts in 1634 from Essex, England, descended was Sidney Taber of Lake Forest Ill
  • Philip Taber, who landed in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1634 2
  • Timothy Taber, aged 35, who arrived in New England in 1635 2
Taber Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Ebert Taber from England settled in New England in 1709
  • Ebert Taber, who arrived in the New World at the age of 20 in 1709
  • William Taber, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 2
Taber Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • J. Taber, who settled in San Francisco in 1851
  • J Taber, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Taber (post 1700) +

  • Joseph Paul Taber (b. 1911), American who was a prominent agriculture organization executive in New York State, awarded the Distinguished Service Award of Ithaca (1944), and the award for patriotic services from the U.S. Treasury (1941-45)
  • Edward Timothy "Lefty" Taber (1900-1983), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1926 season
  • Edward Martin Taber (1863-1896), American landscape artist
  • Dr. Henry S. Taber (1860-1936), American member of the American Academy and professor of Mathematics at Clark University from 1888 to 1921
  • Robert Schell Taber (1865-1904), American Broadway actor who died of pleurisy a the age of 39
  • Thomas Taber II (1785-1862), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1828-1829)
  • Norman Stephen Taber (1891-1952), American gold and bronze medalist middle distance runner at the 1912 Olympic Games
  • Stephen Taber (1821-1886), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1865-1869)
  • Catherine "Cat" Taber (b. 1979), American voice and television actress
  • John Taber (1880-1965), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1923-1945), (1945-1953) and (1953-1963)
  • ... (Another 26 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


The Taber Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Soles occidere et redire possint
Motto Translation: The sun sets and they can


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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