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Summary
- Annabel is not in the Bible. It arose in medieval Scotland as a variant of Amabel, from Latin amabilis, “lovable” — the same root as Mabel.
- The spelling was later altered as though the name were Anna plus French belle. That reading is a folk etymology, not a derivation.
- Anna herself is in Luke 2:36-38: a prophet, widowed after seven years of marriage, who “never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying” until she was eighty-four.
- A widow without sons had no standing and no security. She had no reason to expect anything, and she kept showing up.
- She recognised the child of a poor couple who could only afford two birds rather than a lamb, and spoke about him to everyone waiting.
Bibliography (Click to show)
Sources: Behind the Name entry for Annabel (variant of Amabel, spelling altered as if Anna plus French belle; arose in Scotland in the Middle Ages); Scripture quotations from the NIV via BibleGateway (Luke 2:22-38; Leviticus 12:8).
