Meaning & History
From Middle Low German tabbert, Middle Dutch tabbaert ‘tabard’, a sleeveless overgarment worn by men in the Middle Ages, (ultimately from French tabard, from Late Latin tabardum). The surname may be derived from a house sign, from a garment of livery, perhaps worn by a herald, or from a metonymic occupational name for a tailor. From a reduced form of the Germanic personal name Dagobert (from Old High German tac ‘day’ + berht ‘bright’); or in some instances possibly from a Frisian personal name, Tjabbert, composed of an unattested Germanic element theudo- ‘people’, ‘race’ + berht ‘bright’; though the form Tabbert is not recorded except as a surname.