Fabian

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Fabian is one spelling over 3 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 2 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• Spanish80%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Fabian in Spanish.

• German6.6%

  patronymische Familiennamen zu Rufname Fabian.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 6: Familiennamen aus Rufnamen

  männl. Vom. lateinischen Ursprungs, der auf einen mit der Endung »-änus« zu dem römischen Geschlechtemamen

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• English5.6%

  from the Latin personal name Fabianus, a derivative of the Roman family name Fabius, perhaps based on Latin fava ‘bean’

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

  Lat Fabianus ‘of Fabius’, probably from faba ‘a bean’; first attested Fabianus de Cam 1184 P (Ha).

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Fabian, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Dorian
• Damian
• Lucian
• Adrian
• Elian
• Gideon
• Hadrian
• Julian
• Evander
• Bruno
• Darius
• Caspian

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Fabian is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Hungarian surname8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, Switzerland, Romania, United States

  Also written Fábián, Fabián, Fàbiàn, Fàbián, Fábian

• Polish given name14 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Slovakia, Spain

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Slovak

  Also written Fabián, Fábián, Fabian', Fãbīåň, Fábian

• a separate name7 spellings in the group

  Also written Fabían, Fabiàn, Fábian, Fãbiăn, Fabián

• Swedish given name12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, United States

  Languages: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian

  Also written Fábián, Fabián, Fábian, Fäbïâň

• Catalan given name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Argentina

  Also written Fabián

• Indonesian given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Peru, United States, Ecuador

  Also written Fabián, 'Fabian, Fábián

• French given name124 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Belgium, United States, Laos

  Languages: French, Lao, Spanish

  Also written Fabien, Fabienne, Fabián, Fabiënne, Fabiano

78 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Fabian is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• From the Late Latin name Fabidnus, a derivative of the old Roman family name Fabius (see Fabia). It was borne by an early pope (236-250), who was martyred under the Emperor Decius. The name was introduced into Britain by the Normans and occurs occasionally in the 16th and 17th centuries, but it has never been much used in the Englishspeaking world.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In Swedish, Fabian är ett latinskt namn, en förkortad form av Fabianus, som i sin tur är en bildning till släktnamnet Fabius. Detta kan vara bildat till faba ’böna’ eller beteckna härkomst, ’från Fabiæ’. Fabian och Sebastian var namn på två romerska martyrer (200-talet), som i den kyrkliga traditionen har förts ihop som tvillinghelgon. I både den rikssvenska och finlandssvenska almanackan 20 januari.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausenb. 1778EEBaltic German officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, cartographer and explorer (1778–1852)
• Pär Lagerkvistb. 1891SEnot in their usual nameSwedish writer (1891–1974)
• Fabian Wagnerb. 1978DEGerman cinematographer
• Fabian Cancellarab. 1981CHSwiss cyclist
• Fabián Orellanab. 1986CLChilean footballer
• Fabian Hambüchenb. 1987DEGerman artistic gymnast (born 1987)
• Ángel Di Maríab. 1988ARnot in their usual nameArgentine footballer (born 1988)
• Fabian Schärb. 1991CHSwiss association football player
• Jeison Murillob. 1992COnot in their usual nameColombian association football player
• Fabián Ruizb. 1996ESSpanish footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

In which country does Fabian have the most bearers?

Mondonomo estimates about 106 thousand people named Fabian in Colombia, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled fabian.

What does the name Fabian mean, and where does it come from?

from the Latin personal name Fabianus, a derivative of the Roman family name Fabius, perhaps based on Latin fava ‘bean’ Recorded by Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history].

How do you pronounce Fabian?

It depends on the language: in Spanish /faβjan/; in German /ˈfaː.bi.an/ (Wiktionary). Transcriptions are machine-generated except where a dictionary is named.

Is Fabian a male or female name?

Fabian is a male name. National registers that list it by sex list it as male: United States (Census Bureau, 2020), Poland (dane.gov.pl, 2026), Austria (Statistik Austria, 2024) and Ecuador (INEC, 2024), among others.

What are other forms of the name Fabian?

In the etymology graph, Fabien, Fabiano and Fabijan are forms of the same name in other languages.

How common is the name Fabian?

In the United States, the national register counted 43,046 people named Fabian in 2020, about 1 in 7.7 thousand residents.

How common is Fabian compared with other names?

In Colombia, Fabian is the 75th most common given name of 106,067 given names recorded there.