Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin amabilis, "lovable, dear". The vernacular French form Amable was brought by the Normans to the British Isles where both Amabel and the abbreviated Mabel were common during the Middle Ages to subsequently become obsolete apart from Mabel remaining in regular use in Ireland where it was perceived as a variant of the Celtic name Maeve. Mabel's modern usage was subsequent to the 1853 publication of the novel The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte M. Yonge which featured a character – who was Irish – named Mabel Kilcoran; Yonge's novel also features a character named Amabel but her novel only boosted the popularity of the name in the form Mabel which became immensely popular in both the British Isles and the United States.
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