The baby name Mabel was a white hot favorite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After a long hibernation, Mabel is back.
Thanks to Nessa for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME MABEL MEAN?
Parents like their children’s names to have great meanings, and Mabel delivers. It comes from the Latin amabilis, meaning lovable.
You might also hear the meaning “my beauty,” but that’s pure folk etymology. In French, ma belle translates to my beauty or my pretty. It’s not the source of the name – though it doesn’t hurt, either, and Mae or Belle would make a great nickname.
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 shortened to Amabel and then dropped the A entirely. It appears in lists of Anglo-Norman names, like this one. Mabile and Mabilia were in use, too.
CHARLOTTE M. YONGE’S MABEL
Many medieval names fell out of use as time passed, including Amabel in all forms.
They were just waiting for revival, and many of them were rediscovered.
19th century author Charlotte M. Yonge penned an astonishing 160 works during her lifetime, most of them novels and many of them romances. Yonge isn’t a household name today, but in her era she outpaced even Charles Dickens. 1853’s The Heir of Redclyffe would become her first bestseller.
The novel focused on two sisters, Amabel and Laura. Amabel answered to Amy. There’s also a minor character called Mabel.
The name’s revival seems to trace back to this successful story.
MOTHERS ALWAYS BRING EXTRA LOVE
90s sitcom 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 became parents to a daughter. Their banter included trading baby name lists.
After considering mainstream favorites like Julia and Lily, the couple finally settled on an acronym name: Mothers Always Bring Extra Love.
When the couple announced her name, their friends and family are more than a little surprised at the old-school choice.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME MABEL?
The US Social Security Administration reports data on given names reaching back to the year 1880.
From 1880 through 1922, Mabel ranks in the Top 100 baby girl names each year.
It fell steadily in the 1930s and 40s, exiting the Top 1000 during the 1960s.
When Mad About You introduced Little Miss Mothers Always Bring Extra Love in 1997? The baby name Mabel was given to a mere 42girls that year.
It marked an all-time low.
While the television call-out didn’t return Mabel to the most popular names, it did help shift Mabel’s direction. My 1999, 90 girls were named Mabel.
Not until 2013 did Mabel return to the US Top 1000. It climbed steadily, year after year.
As of 2023, it stands at a very respectable #278.
What helped fuel Mabel’s comeback?
21st CENTURY REVIVAL
Besides the television character, Mabel never really want away. There’s also:
- Silent movie star Mabel Normand.
- A princess in the Dutch royal family, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau.
- The comic strip matriarch from the long-running Motley’s Crew.
- A dog from BBC children’s show Blue Peter.
None of those references get credit for Mabel’s revival. Instead, it’s likely down to sound:
- We love the long A sound, and so many Mae names.
- In an age of Isabelle and Hazel, Mabel fits right in.
Time helps, too. Names from the 1880s have had plenty of decades to peak, drop, hibernate, and make a comeback.
Celebrity parents embraced Mabel, including Chad Lowe, Bruce Willis, and Russell Brand.
But ultimately, it’s television again that gets credit for driving this name up the charts:
- In 2012, Disney XD gave us successful animated mystery series Gravity Falls, focused on siblings Dipper and Mabel Pines.
- Mad About You enjoyed a brief 2019 reboot, featuring Mabel as a rising college freshman.
- In 2021, the world met Mabel Mora, of Only Murders in the Building.
It was steady, positive encouragement for parents looking for the perfect name. Familiar, bright and strong, easy to spell and pronounce. There are so many reasons to love the baby name Mabel.
What do you think of Mabel?
This post was published on December 19, 2008. It was substantially revised on November 10, 2016 and February 18, 2025.
This name, spelled Mable, is also a fun catchy song by the pop-punk group Goldfinger (“I gotta say that Mable, she’s the bomb”) which is why my husband and I have always considered it. It’s cute and definitely wearable now that all these “old lady” names are coming back.
Mabel is the name of the character Bridget Jones’ daughter, in the 3rd book (book and movie are not alike).
I find it quite clunky.
Our little Mabel Grace was born this evening. She’s a beautiful baby and perfect in every way. Out of curiosity I just now googled Mabel B…….., expecting no results since Mabel’s surname is not a common one. But there it was, a Mabel with the same last name. And proving the “hundred year rule’ in baby naming, this Mabel (Minnie Emma) B…….. was born in 1918. She acquired the B…….. surname through marriage, but still the same name as a baby born almost 100 years later.
I’m not sure our Mabel will also be called “Maisie” as I mentioned above: her mommy likes Maisie okay but far prefers Mabel. I think that’s who she’s going to be.
Congratulations on the arrival of Mabel! SO exciting, Patricia. Best wishes to you and your family. 🙂
Friends are naming their baby girl Mabel with the nickname Maisie. I found this connection when I came across a reference to VP Biden’s granddaughter Roberta Mabel who goes by “Maisy”, and it works well for this couple. Yet Maisie seems to be a recent nickname for Mabel, and my friends are really into vintage names. Thus I was so exited to find this obit for a Mabel called Maisie who was born around 1906:
Fulton. Mabel “maisie” (liggett) Fulton
Mabel “Maisie” (Liggett) Fulton, 89, of West Hartford, widow of James Fulton, died Saturday (May 20, 1995) at home. She was born in Portadown, Northern Ireland…
I very much like the whimsical “Maisie” as a nn for the turn-of-the-19th century favorite Mabel. Having Mabel as her given name and Maisie as her nn (especially with her dad who LOVES that name) will give her two options when she’s an adult.
So happy to have found this ‘historic’ linking of the two names for my friends!
That’s awesome – what a great connection!
Its a fun name to have and its annoying when people spell it horribly wrong. Sometimes people spell it M-A-B-L-E or even M-A-Y-B-L-E. Overall I get lots of complements on my name. My mother did name me after the TV show.
i Really like the name Mabel. I’m having a baby soon . don’t know what it is. We have Piper picked out as a name. Which i do like . But my thoughts Always come back to Mabel. I Really Don’t know why but i like it. It Probably be a boy anyway. We already have that name picked Lanigan.
I adore this name. I think it’s peppy and energetic but with a bit more substance than Poppy or even Molly. I think there will be many Hazels in the coming years, and a Mabel would fit in nicely.
Emily is right. Mabel Stark was a tiger trainer and quite the character. If you want to read a great book that will make the name Mabel come alive for you, read “The Final Confessions of Mabel Stark” by Robert Hough. I was super amused by her and now Mabel is one of my name crushes. I can’t stop thinking about it!!
I LOVE Mabel! My DH and I find out the sex of baby number 1 in less than a week. We are hoping for a girl but if it IS a girl, we have “decided” on Millie. I have told my DH if this one is Millie, the next girl is Mabel. I’m not one for all M names or all same letter names, but those are my top two. I very much adore Adley and Hadley but DH pronounces those two with an extra a after the d making it Adaley and Hadaley. Oh how tough I never thought it would be to name a baby!
I have Mabel and she’s beautiful… All names make a revival, in 50 years time people will be saying Sharon, Melissa, Simon and Jason are old peoples names, just saying! x