John Cabot - Name and Origins

Name and Origins

Cabot's birthplace is in Italy. In Italian he is known today as Giovanni Caboto, in English as John Cabot, in French as Jean Cabot, and in Spanish as Juan Caboto. The non-Italian forms reflect references to him in the related 15th-century documents. Only one set of documents has been found bearing his signature. These are Venetian testamentary documents of 1484, on which he signed as "Zuan Chabotto", "Zuan" being a form of "John" typical to Venice. That he continued to use this form in England, at least among Italians, is supported by two letters referring to him that were written by others in London in 1497. One, from a London-based Venetian, gives Cabot's first name as Zuam. Another, from the Milanese Ambassador, spells his name Zoane. In a document identified in October 2010, he is described by his Italian banker in London as 'Giovanni Chabbote', this being the only known contemporary document to use this version of his first name.

Gaeta (in the Province of Latina) and Castiglione Chiavarese (in the Province of Genoa) have both been proposed as birthplaces. The main evidence for Gaeta are records of a Caboto family dwelling there until the mid-15th century, but ceasing to be traceable after 1443. Pedro de Ayala, the Spanish envoy and Cabot's contemporary in London, described him in 1498 as "another Genoese like Columbus". John Cabot's son, Sebastian, appears to have believed that his father originally came from Genoa. What is certain is that in 1476 Cabot was made a Venetian citizen, which required a minimum of fifteen years' residency in the city. He must have lived in Venice since at least 1461.