This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval English origin, and is one of the diminutive forms of the medieval female given name "Mab" or "Mabbe", itself a short form of the given name "Amabel". This was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and was adopted from the Latin "amabilis", meaning "loveable". The personal name has survived into the 20th Century in the form of "Mabel". That Mab(be) was a popular given name during the Middle Ages is borne out by the number and variety of surnames it has generated; these range from Mabb and Mapp, and the diminutive forms Mabbott, Mabbett and Mabbutt, to the metronymics Mabbs, Mabson and Mobbs. One Mabota Ryder is recorded in the 1379 Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire. The register of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, in London, records the following entries: the christening of Gilbert, son of Gilbert and Martha Mabbott, on February 3rd 1648, and the marriage of John Mabbott and Mary Lure on September 22nd 1653. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Mabot, which was dated 1509, in the "Register of the University of Oxford", during the reign of King Henry V11, known as "Henry Tudor", 1485 - 1509. 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.

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