Sabine History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Sabine

What does the name Sabine mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Sabine comes from Sabinus and Sabine; these are the masculine and feminine forms of the name, respectively. The personal name is derived from the Sabines, a people who lived in the Appenines northwest of Rome. By the third century BC the Sabines had become fully Romanized. There were three saints named Sabinus and one named Sabine. "In England, the woman's name was much the more common." 1

Another source confirms that the name was "originally Sabinus, a Roman personal name, implying a descent from the Sabine nation. Sabina, its feminine, is still used as a baptismal name." 2

And another source has a slightly different version, "A statue of 'Sabinus, planter of the vines' (the supposed eponymous of the Sabines), was among those remarked by Æneas when he entered the palace of Latinus." 3

Early Origins of the Sabine family

The surname Sabine was first found in Norfolk where the first record of the name was in the Latin form Sabina (1186-1210) and then later in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent and Surrey in 1220. Later in Huntingdonshire, Rogerus filius Sabini was registered there in 1252. Richard Sabin was found in the Assize Rolls for Warwickshire in 1221 and John Sabine was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls for Cheshire in 1279. 1

The same rolls also included Alexander Sabine in Essex. 4

In Somerset, ancient English rolls listed Sabyna Vesy and William Sabin, 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign). 5

Laurence William Savona (fl. 1485), was a Franciscan of London who graduated D.D. at Cambridge, where in 1478 he wrote his 'Margarita Eloquentiae' in three books. 6

Early History of the Sabine family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sabine research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1662, 1689, 1691, 1695, 1704, 1730, 1739, 1758 and 1791 are included under the topic Early Sabine History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sabine Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Sabine has appeared include Sabine, Sabbe, Sabin, Sabyn, Sabben, Saban and many more.

Early Notables of the Sabine family

Notables of the family at this time include

General Joseph Sabine (c. 1662-1739), British Army officer who came of a family settled at Patricksbourne in Kent
his grandfather, Avery Sabine, was an alderman of Canterbury. Joseph was appointed captain lieutenant to Sir Henry Ingoldsby's regiment of foot on 8 March 1689, captain of the grenadier company before...

Sabine migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Sabine arrived in North America very early:

Sabine Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Gustavus A Sabine, who landed in New York, NY in 1843 7
Julia Anna Sabine, who arrived in New York, NY in 1843 7
Frank Sabine, who settled in Philadelphia in 1872

Contemporary Notables of the name Sabine (post 1700) +

Wallace Clement Sabine (1868-1919), American physicist who founded the field of architectural acoustics
Joseph Sabine (1770-1837), English lawyer and naturalist, eldest son of Joseph Sabine of Tewin, Hertfordshire, and brother of Sir Edward Sabine
General Sir Edward Sabine KCB FRS (1788-1883), English astronomer, scientist, ornithologist and explorer, President of the Royal Society, fifth son and ninth child of Joseph Sabine, esq., of Tewin, Hertfordshire
Mr. Charles Wheatstone Sabine O.B.E. (b. 1876), British Lieutenant Commander for the Royal Navy was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 1939 8
Sabine Adamik (1960-2023), also known as Sabine Heidrun Bothe, was a German handball goalkeeper. She participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where the German national team was placed fourth
Sabine Heidrun Bothe (1960-2023), also known as Sabine Adamik, was a German handball goalkeeper. She participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where the German national team was placed fourth
Sabine Weiss (1924-2021), née Weber, a Swiss-French photographer, one of the most prominent representatives of the French humanist photography movement
Sabine Schmitz (1969-2021), German professional motor racing driver for BMW and Porsche
Sabine Röther (b. 1957), East German bronze medalist handball player at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Sabine Hake, American Texas Chair of German Literature and Culture at the University of Texas, Austin

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 31 October 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1