This interesting and long-established surname is of
medieval English origin, and derives from the
Hebrew male
given name "Hevel", traditionally held to derive from the Hebrew "hevel", breath, vigour, used also in the figurative sense "vanity, worthlessness". This name was borne by the son of Adam who was murdered by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:1-8), and was popular throughout
Christendom during the Middle Ages (circa 1200 - 1500), when there was a cult of suffering innocence which Abel represented. "Abellus", the
Latinized form of the name, is recorded (with surname) in Documents relating to the
Danelaw. Leicestershire, dated 1216, and an Abel
de Etton',
witness, was noted in the 1221
Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire. The surname first appears on record towards the end of the 12th Century (see below), and further early examples include: Richard Abel (Buckinghamshire, 1273) and Thomas Abelle (Yorkshire, 1301). In the modern idiom the name is variously spelt Abel, Abell, Abele and Able, with
patronymic forms including Abeles, Abelson and Ableson. Abel is also recorded in Scotland from an early date, one Master Abel being noted in Documents concerning the
Abbey of Kelso in 1235. The early
church register recordings include examples such as Evans Abelson, who was christened at St James Clerkenwell, London, on October 6th 1578, and Edward Ableson, the son of Myles and Patience Ableson, who was christened at the famous church of St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on December 20th 1643. The
coat of arms most associated with the name has the
blazon of a
silver field,
charged with twelve
gold fleurs-de-lis on an
blue saltire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Abel, which was dated 1197, in the "
Pipe Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard the
Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.