The term "sabang" is closely related to geographical features, particularly rivers and coastlines, across various languages in the Philippines and Indonesia.
• Cebuano: Refers to an area near the mouth of a river.
• Ilocano: Means "riverbank", and is also the origin of the Filipino surname "Sabangan", which refers to people living near a riverbank.
• Bikol Central, Dupaningan Agta, and Maranao: In these languages, "sabang" means "mouth of a river" or "delta", inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sabaŋ.
• Indonesian: Sabang is also the name of a city in Aceh province, consisting of Weh Island and several smaller islands off the northern tip of Sumatra.