Name of the Week

Genteel, fusty Mabel is a triumph of endurance,
for centuries reaching peaks of popularity, cycling in and out of favour.
Luckily, she's back on an upward curve again.

 

Origin:

Mabel is a contracted form of Amabel which is derived from the Latin amabilis "lovable."

Usage:

Amabel, and its more common form, Mabel, were recorded in a plethora of Medieval records from the 12th century, and in various forms. Mabilia and Amabilia were the common Latinisations used in Latin records, though Mabella, Mabilla and Mabillæ can also be found. Other forms recorded include Mabill, Mable, Mabley and Mabyle.  Mabel was certainly more common than Amabel, but did not replace it completely.  Mabb, Mobb, Mapp and Mopp appear to have been used as vernacular pet-forms, and explains the use of the diminutive Mabot (Mabb + French suffix ot), Mabota and Mabbet.  A study of 21 manors dated between c.1230-47 by Brian M. Scott places Mabel at #6 for most popular women's name. In a study of 1000 names from 10 counties from 1377-81, Redmonds calculates that Mabel held a rank of #32, which he characterises as 'infrequent'. This may show that the name had declined a little in popularity by the 14th century, from its height in the 13th century, though with such small samples it is impossible to truly know. It is interesting to note, however, that majority of Reaney and Wilson's examples for Mabel are cited from the 13th century. Mabel's established use in the Middle Ages created a whole host of derived surnames, including Mable, Mabley, Mabb, Mabbs, Mabbett, Mabbot, Mopp, Moppes and Mabson. Mabel's use declined in the following centuries, but certainly never disappeared (and was not as rare as is commonly proported). Smith Bannister's popularity rankings show that, though Mabel fluctuated in use, it did have a small peak in the late 16th century: 1538-49: —; 1550-9: —; 1560-9: #45; 1570-9: #35; 1580-9: #21; 1590-9: #29; 1600-9: #28; 1610-9: #39; 1620-9: #45; 1630-9: #27; 1640-9: #28; 1650-9: #30; 1660-9: #37; 1670-9: —; 1680-9: —; 1690-1700: —.  Once again, Mabel declined, but never disappeared. Baptism records in the 18th and early 19th century for little Mabels not especially common, but they can be easily found — especially in Yorkshire and Northumberland. Mabel seems to have been common to this region; Charlotte Mary Yonge, writing in 1863, said it was "still used among the Northern peasantry."  At the time Yonge wrote this, however, Mabel was once again on the upswing as one of the many medieval names which became highly fashionable in Victorian society. Mabel's spark may have been lighted when Wordsworth used the name in his sonnet St Catherine of Ledbury (1835) and compounded when C.M.Yonge used it herself in her bestselling novel The Heir of Redclyffe (1854). UK census records for women named Mabel demonstrate the meteoric nature of the name's rise in fashion: 1841: 319; 1851: 386; 1861: 813; 1871: 4,362; 1881: 23,448; 1891: 71,785; 1901: 125,035; 1911: 148,327 Mabel's zenith was reached in the late 19th century. It stayed steady for the first two decades of the 20th century, then saw a swift decline from that point on, leaving the Top 100 by the 1930s: 1880: #30 1890: #15 1900: #25 1904: #24  1914: #34 1924: #64 This corresponds to Leslie Dunkling's data for the number of girls registered with the name Mabel in every 10,000 births in England and Wales: 106 in 1900, 58 in 1925 and 12 in 1935. After this point, Mabel's use fell below 1/10000. In Scotland, Mabel ranked #53 in 1900 but had fallen out of the Top 100 by 1950.  With the turn of a new century, Mabel is at the beginning of another revival in England and Wales. It's usage has fluctuated year on year, but overall is on an upward curve. In 1996, only 17 babies were named Mabel in England and Wales (rank #1112). It peaked briefly in 2006 with 91 births (#440) and again in 2008 with 118 births (#378).  In 2012, Mabel ranked #312 with 155 births.  In Scotland, Mabel has had a birth count of between 1 and 7 since 2005, and ranked #1540 (1 birth) in 2012.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Mabel of Bury St. Edmunds, a highly talented 13th-century embroiderer, noted and esteemed by King Henry III. * Mabel Browne, Countess of Kildare (1536–1610), a favourite of Queen Mary I.  * Mabel Loomis Todd (1858–1932), American author. * Mabel Beardsley (1871–1916), British actress. * Mabel Vernon (1883–1975), American suffragist. * Mabel Philipson (1887-1951) was a British actress and politician. * Mabel Normand (1892–1930), an American silent film comedienne and actress. * Mabel Strickland, OBE (1899–1988), Maltese journalist and politician. * Mabel Poulton (1901–1994), British actress. * Dame Mabel Flora Miller, DBE (1906–1978), Australian lawyer and politician. * Mabel King (1932–1999), American singer and actress. Contemporary:  * Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau (born 1968), Dutch princess.  Literature and Media: * Mack & Mabel (1974), musical by Jerry Herman.  * Mabel Buchman, Paul and Jamie's daughter in sitcom Mad About You. Named for the acronym "Mothers Always Bring Extra Love." Celebrity Babies:  * Mabel Ray Mulroney (b.2008), daughter of Dermot Mulroney. * Mabel Painter Lower (b.2009), daughter of Chad Lowe. * Mabel Ray Willis (b.2012), daughter of Bruce Willis.

Variants:

Amabel, Mabella,  Maybel, Maybelle, Mabelle, Mabli (Welsh)

Pronunciation:

MAY-bəl [key]

Possible  diminutives:

May, Mae, Belle, Mel, Maisie, Mabbie, Mabs, Moppet

Sibling Names:

Agnes     Edith     Olive     Elsie     Winifred     Iris  Ralph     Walter    Arthur    Silas     Barnaby     Edmund

Name Lists:

Vintage   Medieval Favourites   Terrifically Tudor   Victorian Darlings   Gilbert & Sullivan Names

 

If you like Mabel you may also like:   Hazel, Martha, Blythe, Maud, Frances, Sybil, Maggie, Myrtle, Hester, Clara

 

Thanks to Patricia for requesting this post.