Fabius

Fabius, the gentile name of one of the most illustrious patrician families of ancient Rome, was supposed to be derived from faba, a bean. According to legend, the whole kith and kin, with the exception of one lad, was destroyed by an ambush near Cremera in the war against the Veii (477 B.C.). From this youth sprang the historical Fabii, who were divided into eight branches, the Ambusti and Maximi being the most important.