Mabel made for a jaw-dropping, unexpected choice when Paul and Jamie Buchman chose it for their daughter on Mad About You. But two decades later, Russell Brand and girlfriend Laura Gallacher picked it for their new arrival to almost universal applause.
Thanks to Nessa for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
Mabel: Lovable
Parents like their children’s names to have great meanings, and this one delivers. It comes from the Latin amabilis, meaning lovable.
You might also hear the meaning “my beauty,” but it’s pure folk etymology. In French, ma belle translates to my beauty or my pretty one. It’s not the source of the name.
Two French saints answered to Amabilis – one male, one female. The fifth century male priest also answered to Amable; the seventh century nun is often called just Mable.
Over the years, the name became Amabel and then dropped the A entirely. It appears in lists of Anglo-Norman names, like this one, so it definitely saw some use in the Middle Ages.
Mabel: Charlotte M. Yonge
Charlotte M. Yonge penned an astonishing 160 works, most of them novels and many of them romances. 1853’s The Heir of Redclyffe would become her first bestseller.
Yonge isn’t a household name today, but in her era she outpaced even Charles Dickens. The novel’s Mabel Kilcoran boosted the name’s use throughout the English-speaking world
Mabel: Top 100
By the time the US records capture birth names in 1880, Mabel appeared in the Top 100. Actually, the name ranked in the Top 25 through 1904 and remained in the Top 100 for another 20 years.
By the 1960s, however, the name trended towards obscurity, leaving the US Top 1000 entirely.
Mabel: Mothers Always Bring Extra Love
Mad About You starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as newlyweds Paul and Jamie Buchman. Towards the end of the series’ seven-season run, they welcomed a daughter.
Paul and Jamie struggled to find a name. After considering mainstream picks like Julia and Lily, they settled on an acronym name: Mothers Always Bring Extra Love.
When Paul and Jamie announce the name, their friends and family freeze.
The year was 1997. A mere 42 girls were named Mabel that year, but in 1998 it increased to 77, and 1999 that number grew to 90.
And that was it.
Despite a boost from a wildly popular sitcom, the name stayed obscure, hovering under 100 girls for the next few years.
Mabel: Revival
You might also think of a princess in the Dutch royal family; a dog from BBC children’s show Blue Peter; famous silent movie star Mabel Normand; or a comic strip matriarch from the long-running Motley’s Crew.
But none of those associations quite make the mainstream today.
Instead, this name’s revival is powered by sound and time. The long ‘a’ and -el ending makes Mabel a successor to Hazel. Plus we’ve been embracing Mae names for a while. And parents will always seek out the new wave of revival names. Since this name peaked way back in the 1880s, it feels quite ready for a comeback.
Mabel returned to the US Top 1000 in 2013, and now stands at #578.
With high profile parents, from Chad Lowe to Bruce Willis to Russell Brand, choosing the name for their daughter, Mabel is one to watch.
What do you think of Mabel? Would you consider it for a daughter?
This post was published on December 19, 2008. It was substantially revised and reposted on November 10, 2016.
We’ve just named our daughter Mabel nn Billie. I think she’ll be known as Billie but we felt we needed a more substantial name which will give her another option when she’s older. We didn’t like any of the ‘W’ names. But we love Mabel!!
Oh, LOVE Mabel/Billie – what a great idea. Congrats on your new daughter!
My little sister watches the Disney XD show Gravity Falls, which features a 12-year-old main character named Mabel, who is known for her optimism and enthusiasm. The show has done well with children and adults alike, which may help the name seem more youthful and vibrant.
Part of my fascination with names is rooted in having a rather useless and intrusive form of synesthesia. Mabel is very weird for me because it’s one of the only words where the way it looks written down is completely different to the way it affects me said out loud. Written down it’s powder pink and sky blue with a red stripe, smells like a puff of this ‘impulse’ body spray called True Love. ..when I actually hear it, I taste little pieces of limestone jostling in my mouth, with salt on them. Don’t know why. Sometimes when people discuss it too much the writren and spoken version blur together and it tastes super weird.
I’ve been a fan of Mabel since I read “The Adventures of Mabel” by Harry Thurston Peck as a child. I’m committed to only using family names for my children so Mabel is off the table (when a few hundred other lovely names that I would otherwise consider) but it will always be special to me.