Show ContentsMable History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Mable family

The surname Mable was first found in Kirkcudbrightshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Chille Chuithbheirt), part of the present day Council Area of Dumfries and Galloway, former county in Southwestern Scotland, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Much farther to the south in Cornwall, England we found this interesting entry as to the parish of Mabe in Cornwall:

"This parish, which is neither large nor populous, is in the deanery and east division of the hundred of Kirrier. It is situated about two miles and a half nearly north-west from Penryn, and contains but little to recommend it to particular notice. On the origin of its name many doubts have been entertained. As a distinct parish its antiquity cannot be compared to that of many other parishes; since it was formerly appropriated to the rich college of Glaseney, at Penryn, and in conjunction with Milor, it forms at present only a consolidated vicarage. In some old records this parish bears the name of Lavabe or Lavapper, and at other times Lan-Mabe, which implies the church of Mabe.' 1

Father Mapple is a fictional character in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick (1851); eponym of Mapple Glacier, in the Aristotle Mountains of Antarctica.

Early History of the Mable family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mable research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1200 is included under the topic Early Mable History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mable Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mabbe, Mabee, Mabey, Mabie, Mabes and others.

Early Notables of the Mable family

More information is included under the topic Early Mable Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Mable migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mable Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • P T Mable, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
  • A Mable, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Mable (post 1700) +

  • Robert Emanuel "Bob" Mable (1885-1960), Australian rugby league footballer who played in the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 to 1910
  • Doris Mable Cochran (1898-1968), American herpetologist and custodian of the American Natural Collection at the Smithsonian Institution
  • Mable John (1930-2022), American blues vocalist, the first female signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label
  • Mable Withee (1900-1952), American actress from Detroit, Michigan, known for Once to Every Man (1918)
  • Mable Boyle, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Wisconsin, 1940, 1944 3
  • Mable Elmore, Canadian politician, MLA for Vancouver-Kensington (2009-)
  • Mable Hill (1872-1956), New Zealand artist
  • Mable George, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1932 4
  • Mable Temple, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma, 1940 5
  • Mable Bean, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Florida, 1932 6


  1. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  2. 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)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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