From the Old English abbod meaning "abbot," a head of a monastery.
Abbott traces its origins to the Aramaic abba, meaning father — the same root that gives us the New Testament's intimate address to God and the English word abbey. In early Christian monastic tradition, the abbot was the spiritual father of a monastery, a position of profound authority and pastoral care that elevated the title throughout medieval Europe. As surnames took hold in England and France following the Norman Conquest, Abbott (and its variants Abbot, Abbett) became attached to families connected to abbeys or monastic estates, whether as workers, tenants, or former clerics, and the surname grew common across Britain.
As a given name, Abbott was occasionally used in 19th-century America in the tradition of bestowing surnames as first names — a practice particularly common in New England, where family surnames were pressed into service to honor maternal lines or distinguished neighbors. The most culturally indelible Abbott of the 20th century was Bud Abbott, born William Alexander Abbott, the straight-man half of Abbott and Costello — the comedy duo whose 'Who's on First?' routine (1938) is widely considered the greatest comedy bit in American entertainment history.
Abbott's deadpan authority opposite Lou Costello's bewildered everyman made the name synonymous with a particular kind of composed, unflappable wit. As a given name today, Abbott is rare but growing in the category of distinguished surname-names — companions to names like Beckett, Fletcher, and Merritt. It has a crisp Anglo-Saxon sound, an easy nickname (Abby works for any gender), and a depth of historical meaning that rewards those who look. It is a serious name worn lightly.