Abad History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

Abad is an occupational surname for a person who was employed in an Abbot. "Abad" comes from the latin "abbas" and this from the Syrian "abba" meaning "padre" or father. This was the title given to those who had monasteries. 1

This noble surname that can be traced back to medieval Spain. While the patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in Spain, occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages. Many people, such as the Abad family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. However, an occupational name did not become a hereditary surname until the office or type of employment became hereditary. The surname Abad was an occupational name for a person who worked under the supervision of monks in an Abbot.

Early Origins of the Abad family

The surname Abad was first found in the Basque region of northern Spain. Abadía, named after the town's proximity to an abandoned abbey in the next town, is a small municipality found in the province of Cáceres. The surname Abad is borne by a noble and very ancient lineage of Vizcaya (Basque Country), in the northern part of Spain. The ancestral seat of this family was located in the Gordejuela Valley.

Of note was Juan de la Abadía el Viejo (fl. 1470-1498), a Spanish painter in the gothic Spanish-Flemish style.

Early History of the Abad family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Abad research. Another 215 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1288, 1565, 1751, 1825, 1827 and 1898 are included under the topic Early Abad History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Abad Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Abad, Abbad, Abade, Abat, Abades, Abadal, Abadía, Abadia, de Abadía, de Abadia, de la Abadía, de la Abadia and many more.

Early Notables of the Abad family

Prominent among bearers of the family name at this time was

Manuel Abad y Queipo (1751-1825), a Spanish Roman Catholic Bishop of Michoacán in the Viceroyalty of New Spain at the time of the Mexican War of Independence. Mexican poet Diego José Abadiano was of n...
Francisco Abad Moreno (d. 1827), better known as "Chaleco", was one of many Spanish guerrilleros who came to prominence in the Spanish War of Independence

Abad Ranking

In the United States, the name Abad is the 9,370^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Abad is ranked the 3,995^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 3

Abad migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Abad Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Domingo Abad de Zurbano, who sailed to America in 1517
Miguel Abad, who sailed to the Spanish Main in 1534
Martín Abad, who sailed to Peru in 1583

Abad Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Domingo Abad, who arrived in America in 1817 4
Miguel Abad, who landed in Spanish Main in 1834 4
Antonio Abad de la Rosa, who sailed to Puerto Rico in 1850
Antonio Abad, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1850 4
Mariano Abad, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1858 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Abad (post 1700) +

Fausto Andres "Andy" Abad (b. 1972), American former Major League Baseball player
Mercedes Abad (b. 1961), Spanish journalist and short story writer
Pacita Abad (1946-2004), Filipina painter
Carmencita Abad (b. 1933), Filipino actress
Antonio Martínez Abad (1894-1970), Fillipino poet, fictionist, playwright and essayist from Cebu

Citations +

Woods, Richard Donovan, Spanish Surnames In The Southwestern United States G. K. Hall, 1978. Digital
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)