Frequency: (252)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. French: nickname from Old French gabe ‘joke’ (of Old Norse origin).
2. German: from a short form of Germanic personal name formed with geba ‘gift’. Compare Gebhardt.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
