Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • North German : from Middle Low German krabbe ‘small crab’, ‘shrimp’, ‘prawn’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who caught or sold shellfish or a nickname for a lively person.
  • Dutch, Danish, and Swedish : from Middle Dutch crabbe, Old Norse krabbi ‘crab’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who caught or sold shellfish or perhaps a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait.