Dable

This unusual and interesting name is of Low German, that is, Frisian, Flemish, origin, and was introduced into England during the 14th and 15th Centuries when a great many Flemish artisians, skilled in weaving and cloth-making, were invited to England to share their skills during the boom in the wool trade. The surname is found as "Doppler", "Dabel", and "Dabels" in the German and Flemish forms, which became "Dabell", Daybell", "Dable", "Dubble" and "Dabel" in England. The name "Dabel" derives from a nickname for a gambler, or from an occupational name for a maker of dice, from the German "dopel", die. In England the modern surname is found mainly in the eastern counties. The marriage of Catherine Dable and Richard Grumbold was recorded at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, London, on January 15th, 1759. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Dabble (christening), which was dated May 2nd 1578, in Childerditch, Essex, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.