Abbe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland

Of all the French names to come from Normandy, Abbe is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in Normandy. Their name, however, indicates that the original bearer lived at or near an abbey. The word occurs in contraction with the article, le, meaning the, and thus appears Labbey.

Early Origins of the Abbe family

The surname Abbe was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family has been traced from ancient times.

Early History of the Abbe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Abbe research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1526, 1566, 1607, 1610, 1650, 1662, 1667, 1669 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Abbe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Abbe Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Abbe, including Labbey, Labey, Labbé, L'Abbey, Labbie, Labie, L'Abbie, Labbee, Labee, L'Abbé, L'Abbée, Labbay, Labay, Labbai, Labai, Labaie, Labbais, Labadie, Labais, de Labbey, de Labey, de Labbay, de Labay, L'Abbaye, de l'Abbaye, Labaye, Labbaye, de Labbai, de Labai, de Labbais, de Labais, de la Bey, de la Bay and many more.

Early Notables of the Abbe family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Louise Labbe, poet

Abbe migration to the United States +

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Abbe has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Abbe were

Abbe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Abbe, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 aboard the ship "Southampton" 1
John Abbe, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1634 1
Thomas Abbe, who landed in Virginia in 1649 1
Soliman Abbe, who landed in Long Island in 1659 1
Thomas Abbe, who settled in Virginia in 1673

Abbe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Daniel Abbe, who arrived in America in 1831 1
Jacob Abbe, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1854 1

Abbe migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Abbe Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Elizth Abbe, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1774

Contemporary Notables of the name Abbe (post 1700) +

Cleveland Abbe (1818-1916), American meteorologist
Samuel B. Abbe, American politician, Member of Minnesota territorial House of Representatives 5th District, 1857 2
Joshua G. Abbe, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1868 2
Horace Lincoln Abbe (b. 1865), American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Enfield, 1902, 1906, 1910 2
Harold Abbe, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Washington, 2004 2
Albert N. Abbe, American Republican politician, Alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1908 2
Louis Jean Nicolas Abbé, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 3
Truman Abbe (1873-1955), American surgeon
Robert Abbe (1851-1928), American surgeon and radiologist
James Abbe (1883-1975), American photographer
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Abbe 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: Sine labe
Motto Translation: Without wavering

Citations +

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, September 30) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Louis Abbé. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html