Show ContentsAmabile History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The history of the Amabile name began with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from the female personal name Anabel, which was originally derived from the Latin word amablis, which means lovable. 1

"There is no difficulty about it. Originally it was Amable or Amabel, but very soon became Annabel, whence the Scottish Annaple and Annabella. " 2

"There is no evidence for the use of Hannibal as a Christian name in England before 1619 in Cornwall." 3

Early Origins of the Amabile family

The surname Amabile was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where we found entries as a forename and surname: Amabilia (without surname), Buckinghamshire; John filius Amabilie, Huntingdonshire; and John Amable Cambridgeshire. 2

The Close Rolls listed Richard Anabilla, temp. Richard II, Mathew Hanybal, 39 Henry III (in the 39th year of King Henry III's reign), John Anable, 22 Edward III (during the 22nd year of King Edward III's reign.) 2

In Cheshire, Roger, George Anabull(e) was listed there in 1499 and 1539. Thomas Hannyball was listed in Oxfordshire in 1513 and John Anyable was listed in Suffolk in 1568. 3

Early History of the Amabile family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Amabile research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1256, 1275, 1282, 1504, 1513, 1515, 1520, 1523, 1531, 1792 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Amabile History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Amabile Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Amabile family name include Annabell, Anabell, Anebelle, Annabal, Annable, Anable, Amable, Amabilis, Annible, Hunnable, Hannibal, Honeyball, Honeybell and many more.

Early Notables of the Amabile family

Distinguished members of the family include Thomas Hannibal (d. 1531), English judge who was incepted in the canon law at the university of Cambridge in 1504, and the same year was installed prebendary of Gevendale in the church of York. "He was incorporated D.C.L. at Oxford in 1513, and graduated LL.D. at Cambridge, and received the appointment of vicar-general to Silvester, bishop of Worcester, in the following year. He entered the...
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Amabile Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Amabile family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Amabile surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Anthony Annabal, who sailed to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621; Jane Annable to Plymouth in 1623; John Annable to Massachusetts in 1641; Robert Annable to Massachusetts in 1690.


Contemporary Notables of the name Amabile (post 1700) +

  • Michael S. Amabile, American politician, Mayor of Los Banos, California, 2004 4


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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