| Mabel | Ebony | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lovable | deep black wood |
| Origin | latin | latin |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | MAY-buhl | EB-uh-nee |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1915 (3,683) | 1982 (2,279) |
| In 2025 | 1,522 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Mabel | Ebony |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6,614 | 155 |
| 2010s | 4,710 | 742 |
| 2000s | 1,073 | 2,911 |
| 1990s | 694 | 10,174 |
| 1980s | 779 | 18,263 |
| 1970s | 690 | 6,688 |
| 1960s | 1,053 | 59 |
| 1950s | 1,836 | 6 |
| 1940s | 4,020 | 0 |
| 1930s | 8,798 | 0 |
| 1920s | 24,522 | 0 |
| 1910s | 30,783 | 0 |
| 1900s | 21,625 | 0 |
| 1890s | 21,991 | 0 |
| 1880s | 13,096 | 0 |
A medieval short form of Amabel, from Latin amabilis 'lovable, dear', from amare 'to love'. The long-surviving English form of the amabilis names.
A word-name from 'ebony', the dense black tropical hardwood, from Latin 'ebenus' (via Greek, ultimately Egyptian). Note: a vocabulary name; secondary nature theme reflects the tree/wood source.
Mabel is more popular than Ebony today: about 1,522 US babies were given the name Mabel in 2025, compared with 0 named Ebony.
Mabel means Lovable (latin origin), while Ebony means deep black wood (latin origin).
In US records, Mabel first appears in 1880 and Ebony in 0, so Ebony has the longer recorded history.