Show ContentsFabien History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Fabien family

The surname Fabien was first found in Hampshire where they held a family seat in the year 1184. Fabianus of Cam held estates in that shire at that time. 1 The name has two possible origins: from the ancient personal name, the Latin Fabianus; 2 and from the Latin Fabius, Faba, a bean-the bean-man, so called from his success in cultivating beans. 3

Other early records of the family include: Willelmus filius Fabiani, identical with William Fabian in the Curia Regis Rolls of Essex in 1220; and William Fabien from Norfolk, 1231-1253. 1

Early History of the Fabien family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fabien research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1493, 1496, 1498, 1503, 1506, 1512, 1526, 1553, 1582 and 1593 are included under the topic Early Fabien History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fabien Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Fabien family name include Fabian, Fabyan, Fabien, Fabyn, Fabyen and others.

Early Notables of the Fabien family

Distinguished members of the family include Robert Fabyan (died c.1512), a London draper, Sheriff and Alderman, and author of Fabyan's Chronicle. He "came of a respectable family in Essex. We gather from his will that his father's name was John, and his mother's Agnes. It would seem that he followed his father as a clothier in London, where he became a member of the Draper's Company and alderman of the ward of Farringdon Without. In 1493 he held the office of sheriff, and in 1496 was one of a committee appointed to lay before Henry VII the grievances of the London...
Another 101 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fabien Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Fabien family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Fabien surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Simon Fabian who arrived in Virginia in 1668; MIchel Fabian who settled in Pennsylvania in 1751; John Fabian who arrived in New Orleans in 1857; Christoph Fabian who arrived in New York city in 1862.


Contemporary Notables of the name Fabien (post 1700) +

  • Gilles Fabien (b. 1978), French Guianan footballer
  • Cédric Fabien (b. 1982), French Guianan professional footballer
  • Roland Fabien Berrill (1897-1962), Australian co-founder of Mensa, the international society for intellectually gifted people in 1946
  • Bertrand Fabien Gille (b. 1978), French six-time gold medalist handballer, World Player of the Year in 2002
  • Walter Fabien Boyle (b. 1875), American politician, U.S. Consul in Ceiba, 1914-15; Puerto Cortes, 1915-17; San Luis Potosi, 1924; Auckland, 1926-32; U.S. Consul General in Guatemala City, 1938-41 4
  • Fabien Roy (1928-2023), Canadian politician who was active in Quebec in the 1970s
  • Fabien Dao Castellana (b. 1993), French footballer who plays for the French club RC Grasse as a midfielder
  • Fabien Camus (b. 1985), Tunisian footballer
  • Fabien Boisvert (1839-1897), Canadian politician, land surveyor and farmer, Member of the Canadian Parliament for Nicolet (1888-1896)
  • Fabien Horth (b. 1985), retired French bronze medalist swimmer in the 4×200 m freestyle relay at the 2004 European Aquatics Championships


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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