Show ContentsMabe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Mabe family

The surname Mabe 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 Mabe family

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

Mabe Spelling Variations

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

Early Notables of the Mabe family

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

Mabe Ranking

In the United States, the name Mabe is the 3,644th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2 However, in South Africa, the name Mabe is ranked the 781st most popular surname with an estimated 8,837 people with that name. 3


Mabe migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mabe Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Pieter Mabe, who arrived in New York in 1785 4

Mabe migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mabe Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Frederic Mabe U.E. who settled in Belle Vue, Beaver Harbour, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1783 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Mabe (post 1700) +

  • Robert Lee "Bob" Mabe (1929-2005), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1958 to 1960
  • Tom Mabe, American comedian, host of "Mabe in America", a 2008 CMT production
  • Hugh P. III Mabe, American politician, U.S. Attorney for Virgin Islands, 1982-83, 1993 6
  • Richard "Ricky" Mabe (b. 1983), Canadian actor, known for his work in This Is the End (2013), Goon (2011) and Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)


  1. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. "Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
  4. 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)
  5. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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