Show ContentsGabell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Gabell is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from Gabriel or Cebrail, an archangel in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran. 1 2 The name denotes "descendant of Gabriel (God is my strength)." 3 The Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae records William Gabriel of Normandy in 1195. 4

Early Origins of the Gabell family

The surname Gabell was first found in Sussex where the Curia Regis Rolls of 1212 record Gabriel filius Reginaldi. Early rolls often listed this name as a forename as later the Subsidy Rolls of 1296 list Gabriele Spyg, again in Sussex. The same rolls go on to include Roger Gabyrel in the same year. In Suffolk, the Subsidy Rolls there include Nicholas Gabryel in 1327. 5

Again as a forename, we found two entries in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Gabriel Attelond, Kent; and Gabel Brenn, Norfolk. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1370 had only one entry: Thomas Gabriell who held lands there at that time. 6

Further north in Scotland, the name was mostly found in Aberdeenshire. "As a forename we have Gabriel Gymmill in Edinburgh, 1599. David Gabriel, a prominent citizen in Aberdeen, died in December, 1939. I have read somewhere that the family of Gabriel of Aberdeen is descended from a Gabriel Grant, but no such person appears in Sir William Fraser's Chiefs of Grant." 7

Early History of the Gabell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gabell research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1212, 1273, 1455, 1487, 1825 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Gabell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gabell Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Gabell include Gabriel, Gable, Gabell, Gaball, Gableson and many more.

Early Notables of the Gabell family

Distinguished members of the family include Mary Ann Virginia Gabriel, born at Banstead, Surrey, Feb. 7, 1825, learned the piano from Pixis, Döhler, and Thalberg, and harmony and construction from Molique. Her principal work...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gabell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Gabell migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Gabell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Gabell, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 8
  • Tho Gabell, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 8
Gabell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Gabell, who landed in Virginia in 1703 8


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  7. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  8. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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