This most unusual name is of early medieval French origin, and is one of the Anglicized forms of the surname Dablin or d'Abelin, which is itself a patronymic form of Abelin, a surname formed from a diminutive of the male personal name Abel. This was adopted from the Hebrew given name "Hevel", traditionally derived from "hevel", breath, vigour, and was the name borne by the son of Adam who was murdered by his brother Cain; Abel was popular as a given name in Christendom during the Middle Ages, when there was a cult of suffering innocence which Abel represented. The name was introduced into England during the 16th Century, probably by French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution in France, and took various Anglicized forms, among them Dablin(g), Deblin(g), and Diblin(g). Examples of the name from various Church Registers include: the christening of William Dabling at Hoo, in Kent, on April 28th 1663; the marriage of Francoise Dablin and Louis Marais on February 4th 1715, at St. Germain-en-Laye, Seine-et-Oise, France; and the christening of William, son of William and Sarah Debling, at East Hendred, Berkshire, on September 24th 1789. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Diblin, which was dated January 6th 1593, witness at the christening of his daughter, Jone, at St. Mary Whitechapel, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.

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