 The evidence for the various speculations is based merely upon what are at best mere resemblances, likely to be accidental, and suspect supporting evidence.The most commonly held theory holds it to be of Punic origin, from the Phoenician language of colonizing Carthage.Specifically, it may derive from a Punic cognate "ī shāpān" of Hebrew "ī shāfān" (אׅי שָׁפָן) meaning "island of the hyrax", referring to the European rabbit (Phoenician-Punic and Hebrew are both Canaanite languages and therefore closely related to each other).