Frequency: (1289)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Italian: from abate ‘priest’ (from Late Latin abbas ‘priest’, genitive abbatis). The application is uncertain: it could be a nickname, an occupational name for the servant of a priest, or denote an (illegitimate) son of a priest.
2. Jewish (from Italy): either a name indicating descent from a high priest, a calque on Hebrew Cohen, or an occupational name for a rabbi.
GIVEN NAMES: Italian 14%. Salvatore (10), Antonio (6), Carmelo (3), Carmine (3), Gaetano (3), Vito (3), Angelo (2), Canio (2), Rocco (2), Sal (2), Aldo, Carlo.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
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