English and Scottish: from Middle English abbott ‘abbot’
(Old English abbod) or Old French abet ‘priest’. Both
the Old English and the Old French term are derived from Late Latin
abbas ‘priest’ (genitive abbatis), from Greek
abbas, from Aramaic aba ‘father’. This was an
occupational name for someone employed in the household of or on the
lands of an abbot, and perhaps also a nickname for a sanctimonious
person thought to resemble an abbot. In the U.S. this name is also
sometimes a translation of a cognate or equivalent European name,
e.g. Italian Abate, Spanish Abad, or German
Abt.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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