Abel
m.
Traditionally derived from Hebrew הֶבֶל 'breath, vapor; vanity'.
The name of an early Syrian saint, an early Coptic saint, an 8th C French saint, and a 13th C king of Denmark.
Geneva Bible (1560): Abél, Habél.
The name was moderately common in England in the 13th C, but then fell out of use until being revived in the late 16th C.
- England
-
- Latin
- ● 1189 Abel (nom) GASurv p. 101;
1222 Abel (nom) StPaulDom p. 5
- Early Modern English
- ● 1598 Abell BEmar-vol2 p. 31
- France
-
- Latin
- ● 1179 Abel (abl) clairvaux-12thc 177
- Middle French
- ● 1561 Abel RegPCC-1 p. 4;
1562 Abel ibid. p. 8;
1563 Abel ibid. p. 18;
1564 Abel ibid. p. 58;
1565 Abel ibid. p. 114;
1566 Abel ibid. p. 203;
1567 Abel ibid. p. 279;
1568 Abel ibid. p. 401;
1570 Abel ibid. p. 424;
1571 Abel ibid. p. 437;
1588 Abel raymond1588 p. 564
- Hungary
-
- Latin
- ● 1138x1329 Abel (nom) ÁSznt p 40;
1181 Abel (nom) ibid. p. 40;
1208x1359 Abel (nom) ibid. p 40;
1211 Abel (nom) ibid. p. 40;
1215x1550 Abel (nom) ibid. p 40;
1337 Abel (nom) Slíz p. 11
Cite as: G. Grim, R. Le Get, M. Slíz, J. Uckelman, S.L. Uckelman. "Abel". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2016, no. 2. http://dmnes.org/2016/2/name/Abel.