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Cabaniss Family Crest / Cabaniss Coat of ArmsThis surname of CABANISS is of the locational group of surnames, a topographic name for someone who lived in a rough or temporary dwelling. The name was originally derived from the Old Latin CAPANNA. There are a number of places in France and Spain named with this word. In the 8th century, Spain fell under the control of the Moors, and this influence, which lasted into the 12th century, has also left its mark on Hispanic surnames. A few names are based directly on Arabic personal names. The majority of Spanish occupational and nickname surnames, however, are based on ordinary Spanish occupational and nickname surnames The name has many variant spellings which include Cavanna, Cavanni, Cavana, Cabanis and Cabanais. A notable person of the name was Pierre Jean Georges CABANIS (1757-1808) the French physician and philosophical writer, born in Cosnac, Charente-Inferieure. He attached himself to the popular side in the Revolution. He later became a teacher in the medical school in Paris, and a member of the senate. His chief work was 'Rapports de Physique et de Moral de l'Homme' written in 1802. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but most of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. Translation of arms: Gules (red) denotes Military Fortitude and Magnanimity. Argent (white) is the colour of Peace and Sincerity, and the Roses are the emblem of Beauty and Grace. |
