CC Sabathia
Sabathia in 2010, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Carsten Charles Sabathia, Jr.
Place of Birth: Vallejo, Solano, California, United States
Date of Birth: July 21, 1980
Ethnicity: Creole [French, African], African-American
CC Sabathia is an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played for the Cleveland Indians, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the New York Yankees, for a total of nineteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
He is the son of Margie and Carsten Sabathia. He has stated that the surname Sabathia is of French Creole origin, and that he has roots in New Orleans, Louisiana. CC is married to Amber, with whom he has four children.
CC’s paternal grandfather was Al James Sabathia (the son of Arnald/Arnold Sabathia, Jr. and Carrie Cecil Lewis). Al was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Carrie was the daughter of Addison/Addis Lewis and Mary A.
CC’s paternal grandmother was Irma Vera Wilson (the daughter of Oliver Wilson and Josephine Caleman). Irma was born in Louisiana.
CC’s maternal grandfather is Sam J. Rufus (the son of Sam Rufus and Jennie/Gennie Johnson). CC’s grandfather Sam was born in Mississippi.
CC’s maternal grandmother is named Ethel Johnson.
Sources: Obituary of CC’s paternal grandfather, Al James Sabathia – http://www.findagrave.com
CC’s maternal grandfather, Sam J. Rufus, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Is “Sabbathia” really French in origin? I’d like someone with more knowledge to dive into this. I can believe it’s Creole, but I’m skeptical that it’s French Creole.
It’s probably Sabathier/Sabatier in origin.
I’d be really interested to see how far this can be pushed back to find the original French spelling. As the name is transcribed in his family in modern time, it seems almost Spanish.