The surname Abbot is of English origin. It was an occupational name for some employed in the household of an abbott, derived from the Middle English 'abbott', Old English 'abbod', reinforced by the Old French 'abe(t)', priest. Both the Old English and the Old French term are from the Late Latin, Greek, 'abbas, abbatis', priest, from the Aramaic 'aba', father. The ostensible celibacy of the clergy makes it unlikely that the surname is an occupational one for a cleric. A man usually works eight hours a day in order to make his living, sleeps and rests eight hours, and devotes the remaining eight hours to eating, minor chores and recreation, although a part of the latter may be taken up in travelling to and from work. Since man's work takes up such a large portion of his life it must be taken into consideration in any adequate system of identification; ...