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Do you know what Rabea really means and where it comes from?
I read that it is supposed to be Hebrew and mean 'little girl' but couldn't find a reliable source for this.
I also found that it is supposed to mean 'spring' in Arabic but again couldn't find a reliable source. I know that Rabia means 'spring' but I have seen Rabea only on German girls and pronounced as rah-BAY-ah, never as rah-BEE-ah or anything like that so I don't know if it is really related to Rabia.
As I have only seen this name in German speaking countries and only on women born in the 70s and younger I wonder if maybe it is just a variant of the German Tabea influenced by Rebekka or something.
Does anyone have any idea?
I read that it is supposed to be Hebrew and mean 'little girl' but couldn't find a reliable source for this.
I also found that it is supposed to mean 'spring' in Arabic but again couldn't find a reliable source. I know that Rabia means 'spring' but I have seen Rabea only on German girls and pronounced as rah-BAY-ah, never as rah-BEE-ah or anything like that so I don't know if it is really related to Rabia.
As I have only seen this name in German speaking countries and only on women born in the 70s and younger I wonder if maybe it is just a variant of the German Tabea influenced by Rebekka or something.
Does anyone have any idea?
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Replies
Thank you all!
your explanations make a lot of sense and the namesakes are interesting too.
your explanations make a lot of sense and the namesakes are interesting too.
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I think I have found the trigger for the German popularity of the name Rabea in the late 1970ies:
It is Rabea Hartmann, assistant to TV host Wim Thoelke in the TV show Drei mal Neun (ZDF) aired from 1970 bis 1974. She was also assistant to Uri Geller in 1974.
I don't have information how she got her given name.
--elbowin
P.S I discard the theory that it is a variant of Rebecca—I have never heard of similar sounding variants of Rebecca before, and Rebecca became only popular in Germany in the late 1960ies.
It is Rabea Hartmann, assistant to TV host Wim Thoelke in the TV show Drei mal Neun (ZDF) aired from 1970 bis 1974. She was also assistant to Uri Geller in 1974.
I don't have information how she got her given name.
--elbowin
P.S I discard the theory that it is a variant of Rebecca—I have never heard of similar sounding variants of Rebecca before, and Rebecca became only popular in Germany in the late 1960ies.
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It was used, but still rare. It was also used by German Jews. But I never encountered a form of Rebecca that was only slightly similar to Rabea. The most common German forms (Besides spelling variations like Rebecka or Rebekka) are Becki, Beke, Beeke etc., the main Yiddish variants are Rivka or Rifka.
One needs to explain the vowel "a" in the first syllable (in German it is distinct from "e" and not just a spelling variant), and the addition of the final -a to an already feminine name.
--elbowin
One needs to explain the vowel "a" in the first syllable (in German it is distinct from "e" and not just a spelling variant), and the addition of the final -a to an already feminine name.
--elbowin
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I have often wondered where this name stemmed from and why it became popular in German-speaking countries. I am not convinced this is related to Rabia as I have met several Rabeas in my life and all were German, none had an Arab or Middle Eastern connection. Its contemporary use seems to be following off the coattails of Tabea.
I did a little search on familysearch.org and there are already 2 Rabeas listed in the United States as early as the 18th-century, they have German surnames, so I wonder if they were German descent. There are many that pop up around Pennsylvania, Quebec and South Africa by the 1800s, but none in Germany, however, many of the Rabeas listed in the other countries, with the exception of Quebec, have German or Dutch surnames.
I am going to guess this is some sort of Protestant Transcription of Rebecca (like Tabea is of Tabitha) that suddenly re-emerged in use in the late 70s into the 1980s in German-speaking countries, though it doesn't explain its earlier use in Quebec. I am guessing it was used by some Protestant German diaspora, perhaps Anabaptists, who were no longer living in Continental Europe in the 1800s and it later somehow got re-imported back.
I think a lot of German name sites were listing Rabia as the origin merely because they sounded similar. After that, they all repeat each other, but I don't believe they are necessarily accurate.
You can check here to see what I mean
https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?facetType=ON&query=%2Bgivenname%3ARabea~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1400-1400~&birth_year0=1800&count=20
I can be completely wrong. Just my theory.
I did a little search on familysearch.org and there are already 2 Rabeas listed in the United States as early as the 18th-century, they have German surnames, so I wonder if they were German descent. There are many that pop up around Pennsylvania, Quebec and South Africa by the 1800s, but none in Germany, however, many of the Rabeas listed in the other countries, with the exception of Quebec, have German or Dutch surnames.
I am going to guess this is some sort of Protestant Transcription of Rebecca (like Tabea is of Tabitha) that suddenly re-emerged in use in the late 70s into the 1980s in German-speaking countries, though it doesn't explain its earlier use in Quebec. I am guessing it was used by some Protestant German diaspora, perhaps Anabaptists, who were no longer living in Continental Europe in the 1800s and it later somehow got re-imported back.
I think a lot of German name sites were listing Rabia as the origin merely because they sounded similar. After that, they all repeat each other, but I don't believe they are necessarily accurate.
You can check here to see what I mean
https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?facetType=ON&query=%2Bgivenname%3ARabea~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1400-1400~&birth_year0=1800&count=20
I can be completely wrong. Just my theory.
This message was edited 3/2/2019, 11:35 AM
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My search tells me that Rabea is the Nordic female form of "Rueben," and thus Old Testament Biblical, from "son of Jacob," and therefore the daughter of Jacob. Its popularity ranges from 10th to 32nd
across all of the many Nordic nations, including second names. (SOURCE https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Rabea)
across all of the many Nordic nations, including second names. (SOURCE https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Rabea)
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