Some surnames receive world wide publicity simply through one famous name holder, and yet in fact are quite rare. In this case Clark Gable may well have been the best known international figure of the 30's and 40's and yet as a surname 'Gable' is something of a mystery. Every researcher has his or her own theory as to the origin, and these range from locational, from the place known as Great Gable in Cumbria, to job descriptive, and a form of the Olde French 'gobelier' normally found in the English in the surname of Gobler, and describing a tax collector! Our opinion is that the name origin is French, and a development of 'Gabriel', a popular male baptismal name introduced by the Normans after 1066. The nickname form of Gabriel was Gabb, and the diminutive or patronymic was Gabbell (Little Gabb) or Gab(b)in, the Kin of Gabb. The modern surname is found in the forms of Gable, Gabbell, Gabel, Goble, Gibble and the extraordinary Jubble, English spelling and dialectal pronunciation knowing no bounds. What is certain is that as Gable it is recorded in the church records from the early 17th century, and examples include Grace Gable, who married John Gyn, at Tottenham Church, on April 16th 1616, whilst on April 19th, 1629, John Gable married Kathren Morgan at St Johns Church, Hackney, London. The Coat of Arms is Silver, a chevron and chief in green, and a crest of a savage treading on a serpent. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Gabb, which was dated 1397, in the Close Rolls for London, during the reign of King Richard 11, known as 'Richard of Bordeaux' 1377 -1399. 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.