This name SABIA was originally rendered in the Latin form of SABINA, and meant a member of the Sabine tribe, an ancient Italic people of central Italy whose name is of uncertain origin. The masculine form of the name SABIN was borne by at least ten early saints, but the feminine form SABINE was more common in England in the Middle Ages. The name has numerous variant spellings and the name is worldwide in its variants, which include SABATINI, SABIN, SABBEN, SABINE, SABINA, SAVINA, SABLINE, SAVIGNON and SAVINOV to name but a few. The origins of Italian surnames are not clear, and much work remains to be done on medieval Italian records. It seems that fixed bynames, in some cases hereditary, were in use in the Venetian Republic by the end of the 10th century. The typical Italian surname endings are 'i' and 'o', the former being characteristic of northern Italy. The singular form 'o' is more typical of southern Italy. A notable member of the name was Rafael SABATINI (1875-1950) the Italian-born novelist, born of Italian and British parentage in Jesi. He first made his name as an author of historical romances with 'The Tavern Knight' (1904), which he followed after he settled in England in 1905, with many other such tales including 'The Sea Hawk' (1915) and 'Captain Blood' (1922). Social conditions in Southern Italy during the agricultural depression of the late 19th Century spurred the first wave of emigration as thousands of people escaped to the New World. Latin America was the original destination for these early settlers but as the economy strengthened in the United States, North America became more popular. By the end of the 19th Century there were more Italian migrants in the USA than from any other country. In the Post-War era more than a quarter of Italy's population left the country to find a new life in America and Australia. While many Italian names have survived intact, many families chose to anglicise their surnames to fit in with their new country. The names of many more were altered on arrival in America by Ellis Island immigration officials who inadvertently changed names through misunderstanding or mis-spelling as they documented details of the new settlers. |
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