Rabin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Rabin family

The surname Rabin was first found in Dorset. A variety of spelling were first used upon their arrival to England including Raband, Rabayne and Roboin. "The family of De Rabayne came from Saintonge, Acquitaine, where it possessed the marquisate of Piscay. The castle of Rabaine still remains. The family was of eminence in 1018 (Des Bois)." 1

"The first who was of much note in England was Elias de Rabayne, a good soldier in the Gascon war of 1251, and high in favour with Henry III. In 1255 the King committed to him "the corpus of the Castle of Corfe during pleasure, saving to the King the warren, forest, and all other things pertaining to the Castle, outside the walls thereof." Considerable privileges were attached to this office, which the new Constable enforced and extended with such vigour that his aggrieved neighbours were driven to seek redress in the law courts. " 2

"Peter de Rabayne held Litde Pidele at his death in 1272; and 'Petrus de Roboin' is incontestably entered in the Testa de Nevill as holding Waybayouse of the King. 3 He was also possessed of Edmondesham, where he granted an annuity to John Beauboys (Bello Bosco) and his heirs. In 1316, Matilda de Rabayne was Lady of Edmondesham; but of her or her marriage we hear nothing more." 2

Later, Gloucestershire would be another home to the family as here Raban the Englishman, gave land to the church of St. Peter in Gloucester in 1150.

Early History of the Rabin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rabin research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1622 and 1658 are included under the topic Early Rabin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rabin Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Raban, Raben, de Raban, de Raben, Rabyn and others.

Early Notables of the Rabin family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Edward Raban (died 1658), English-born, printer in Aberdeen who was said to have been a native of Worcestershire. While there is no...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rabin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rabin Ranking

In the United States, the name Rabin is the 18,494^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4 However, in France, the name Rabin is ranked the 2,965^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Rabin family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Rabin name or one of its variants: Geo Raban, who came to Virginia in 1717.

Contemporary Notables of the name Rabin (post 1700) +

Samuel Rabin (1905-1993), American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Queens County 8th District, 1945-54; Justice of New York Supreme Court, 1955-60, 1968; Judge of New York Court of Appeals, 1974 6
Matthew Rabin (b. 1963), American professor and researcher in Economics
Michael Rabin (1936-1972), American violinist
Harold J. Rabin, American politician, Mayor of Belle Glade, Florida, 1954 6
Benjamin J. Rabin (1896-1969), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from New York 24th District, 1945-47; Justice of New York Supreme Court 1st District, 1948-69 6
Oscar Rabin (1899-1958), English band leader and musician
Michael Orser Rabin Ph.D. (b. 1931), German computer scientist, Turing Award (1976) recipient, and winner of the Israel Prize, in computer sciences in 1995 7
Itzhak Rabin (b. 1922), Israeli politician and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel with two periods in office and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
"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/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Michael Rabin. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Michael Rabin. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Rabin