Annabel staat niet in de Bijbel — maar de Anna die erin staat wijst naar iets echts

Annabel is not in the Bible. It arose in medieval Scotland as a variant of Amabel — the Latin amabilis, “lovable” — and the spelling was later altered as though it were Anna joined to the French belle, beautiful. So the “Anna” in Annabel is a mistake. But it is a mistake that points at somebody real, and she is one of the loveliest figures in the Gospels. What does the name Annabel mean? Lovable, by descent. Annabel comes from…